The Five Whys

1. The Five Why’s By: Romains Bos

2. Introduction The Five Why’s In Action Why Five? Test It! Does It Hold Up Backwards? Summary Foundations of Project Success Agenda

3. Root cause analysis is a fundamental aspect of continuous improvement It’s how we figure out the difference between defects and errors – errors cause defects There are many forms of root cause analysis: Descriptive frameworks Statistical packages Investigative methods The Five Whys is a simple and proven method for reaching the same conclusions Introduction

4. A two-week old washing machine suddenly stops working . . . The Five Why’s In Action Why did the machine stop working? 1 st Why: The fuse blew Why did the fuse blow? 2 nd Why: The motor overheated Why did the motor overheat? 3 rd Why: The shaft was misaligned Θ

5. A two-week old washing machine suddenly stops working . . . The Five Why’s In Action – Cont’d Why was the shaft misaligned? 4 th Why: The shaft bearing was damaged Why was the bearing damaged? 5 th Why: Θ The shaft seal was missing

6. Obviously, most causes of defects won’t be exactly five whys deep “Five” promotes persistence, rather than the assumption of simple cause and effect Don’t stop until you get to the root cause, but once you’ve reached the root cause, stop Why Five?

7. Test It! Does It Hold Up Backwards? Shaft seal was missing Did that cause…? The shaft bearing to be damaged Did that cause…? The shaft to be misaligned Did that cause…? The motor to overheat Did that cause…? The fuse to blow Did that cause…? Event : Washing machine to suddenly stop working

8. Root cause analysis is an important aspect of continuous improvement because it helps us to identify the errors that cause defects We use the five whys to ensure that we drill down to the root causes of problems “Five” promotes persistence; most root causes will not be exactly five levels deep Summary

9. Foundations of Project Success Scope and Requirements Schedule Project Success Quality Cost Integrity and Safety