Why technique

Visit emeraldpublishing. Answers to the most commonly asked questions here. To read the full version of this content please select one of the options below:. Other access options You may be able to access this content by logging in via your Emerald profile. Rent this content from DeepDyve. Rent from DeepDyve. If you think you should have access to this content, click to contact our support team. Five whys technique example Too much TV and video games Why? Few community-sponsored recreation programs Why?

No family recreational activities Why? No safe play area Why? Lack of resources Why? Less TV and video games How? More community-sponsored recreation programs How?

More family recreational activities How? Cancel anytime - no credit card required. The main point of using the 5 Whys analysis when you encounter a problem is to avoid common logical traps such as jumping to conclusions , avoid wasting time on discussions based on wrong assumptions, and to avoid ignoring the essence of why the problem is really happening. The 5 Whys technique also helps problem solvers to stop playing the blame game.

The basic proposition when performing a 5 Whys analysis is that people do not fail, but processes do. Thus the 5 Whys analysis should be directed towards digging deep to find a fault in the processes and to identify causality between the root cause and consequences or effects, later usually seen as more obvious problems.

Based on the example above, we can clearly see how the 5 whys technique can help you to focus, find the root cause of the problem, and improve the process. But, as mentioned, playing the blame game is very ineffective.

Not to mention, fear is a very poor motivator. You should never blame people, but think about changing an environment system, process, culture, etc. Option 2, and a much better investment of your mental effort, is to think about how to improve the process.

In our case, organizing all the necessary processes and responsibilities with a content calendar a calendar with strictly set dates and topics with planned articles to be published would bring a real improvement.

Clearly defining who is responsible for preparing a monthly content calendar, together with how the whole content creation process goes; from coming up with an idea for an article, to producing, editing, publishing, and distributing it, and then consistently following the process; would make sure the problem never occurs again.

According to the Kaizen rules , you must be careful not to improve processes with more administration. Many managers are familiar with the 5 whys technique, but forget to apply it when necessary. Here are some basics steps you need to follow. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Advice 1. 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.