by harkster
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Steps to Conducting a Five Whys Analysis

• 1. Gather the Team

• Invite all employees affected by the issue to participate in the analysis

• 2. Choose a Leader

• Identify an individual to facilitate the process, guide the meeting and document all findings

• 3. Define the Problem

• Agree on the specific definition of the problem that you have met to discuss. The leader should document the agreed definition.

• 4. Ask the First "Why"

• The leader asks \'Why?\' the defined problem initially occurred. As a team, discuss and explore various avenues of thought.

• 5. Record the Answers

• Record all answers no matter how obvious they seem. Discuss these answers and agree on the most likely systemic cause before moving to the next \'why\'.

• 6. Repeat for Each "Why"

• Repeat the process of asking \'Why?\', where each iteration is questioning the answer to the previous \'Why?\'. Agree on a systematic cause at each level until you have reached a root cause. This should be clear when discussions no longer bring about productive or useful answers.

• 7. Agree on Corrective Actions

• Review each question/answer combination and agree on the corrective action (if required), down to, and including, the level of the root cause.

• The "Leader" assigns responsibility for each corrective action and documents this in the analysis.

• 8. Record and Share the Analysis

• The leader documents and communicates the findings (including follow up actions) to the group involved in the discussion and any others affected by any of the proposed changes.

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This checklist was created by harkster

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