78-5 Whys Problem-Solving Technique and Avoiding the 5 Blames

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5 whys is the technique which I came to know form the book ‘The Lean Startup,’ and before I talk about this technique, I would highly recommend to must read this book, if you are in IT, it will help you a lot, it doesn’t matter either you are startup owner or working as an employee like me. It has so many tool kits that you can utilize in your job or your startup business.

While you will read the 5 whys methodology, I think it is also essential to understand the 5 blames situation. Whereas you will use the 5 whys to find out the root cause of the problem, frustrated teammates might start finding or mentioning to each other that this fault is due to you or him/her. They try to judge that this fault is due to who. With this, you will not get the problem sorted out; instead, you will stuck in the blame game called here 5 blames, which will lead to the failures.

The 5 whys’ goal is to help us find out the root cause of the problem, it could be due to wrong process, or practices, however not bad people, and it helps us find a solution to fix it rather than to blame each other. This incredible technique is called Five Whys, originating from the Toyota Production System, and theorizes that behind every supposedly technical problem is a human problem. Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries, developed the Five Whys procedure in the 1950s and Toyota uses it to solve problems. Taiichi Ohno defines the technique in his book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production that “the basis of Toyota’s scientific approach . . . by repeating why five times, the nature of the problem as well as its solution becomes clear.”

Steps to run five whys method

1. Get the right people/team/stakeholders in the meeting room on zoom
2. Problem Statement
3. Ask & Answer “Why?” Five times to root-cause the problem
4. Brainstorm the solutions
5. Assign the Actions

You must have a ‘Five Whys Master’ for the meeting who is the leader to oversea the proceedings and follow with the assign actions.