What is 5 Whys (Five Whys)?
Last updated: October 21, 2025 Read in fullscreen view
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What are the 5 Whys concept?
Five whys (5 whys) is a problem-solving method that explores the underlying cause-and-effect of particular problems. The primary goal is to determine the root cause of a defect or a problem by successively asking the question “Why?”.
Origin of 5 Whys
The 5 Whys method is part of the Toyota Production System. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor and industrialist, the technique became an integral part of the Lean philosophy.
“The basis of Toyota’s scientific approach is to ask why five times whenever we find a problem … By repeating why five times, the nature of the problem as well as its solution becomes clear.“ Taiichi Ohno
One of the key factors for successful implementation of the technique is to make an informed decision. This means that the decision-making process should be based on an insightful understanding of what is actually happening on the work floor.
In other words, the root cause analysis process should include people with practical experience. Logically, they can give you the most valuable information regarding any problem that appears in their area of expertise.
Click on each picture to learn more about the 5 Whys
How to Get Started with 5 Whys
The 5 Whys technique may help you achieve continuous improvement at any level of your organization. Here are some basics steps you need to follow.
Form a team
Try to assemble a team of people from different departments. Each representative has to be familiar with the process that is going to be investigated.
By forming a cross-functional team, you are going to receive unique points of view.
This will help you collect enough information to make an informed decision. Be aware that this is not an individual task, and it needs to be executed by the team.
Define the problem
Discuss the problem with the team and make a clear problem statement. It will help you define the scope of the issue you are going to investigate.
This is important because investigating a wide scope problem may be a time-consuming exercise with blurred boundaries. Try to be as focused as possible to find an effective solution in the end.
Ask Why
Empower one person to facilitate the whole process. This team leader will ask the questions and try to keep the team focused. The answers should be based on facts and real data, rather than on emotional opinions.
The facilitator should ask “Why” as many times as needed until the team can identify the root cause of the initial problem.
Advice 1. Don’t ask too many Whys. If you keep going, you may end up receiving tons of unreasonable suggestions and complaints, which is not the purpose. Focus on finding the root cause.
Advice 2. Sometimes there could be more than one root cause. In these cases, the 5 Whys analysis will look more like a matrix with different branches. This may even help you detect and eliminate organizational issues that have permanent negative effects on the overall performance.
Take Action
After the team detects the root cause(s), it is time to take corrective actions. All members should be involved in a discussion to find and apply the best solution that will protect your process from recurring problems.
When the decision is made, one of the team members should be responsible for applying the right actions and observing the whole process.
After a certain period of time, the team needs to meet again and check if their actions actually had a positive impact. If not, the process should be repeated.
In the end, the case should be documented and sent across the organization. Sharing this information will give an insightful overview of different kinds of problems a team may face and how those problems can be eliminated.
Example: 5 Whys for analyzing bug reports
Wrapping-Up
The 5 Whys technique is a simple and effective tool for solving problems. Its primary goal is to find the exact reason that causes a given problem by asking a sequence of “Why” questions.
- The 5 Whys method helps your team focus on finding the root cause of any problem.
- It encourages each team member to share ideas for continuous improvement, rather than blaming others.
- It gives your team the confidence that it can eliminate any problem and prevent the process from recurring failures.
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