What are 5 Whys? How to apply 5 Whys to find the root of the problem

The 5 Whys are widely applied not only in business but also in many other areas of life. So what are 5 whys ? If administrators want to learn and apply this method or have used it but it has not been effective, the article below from 1C Vietnam will be useful for businesses.

1. What are 5 Whys?

5 whys simply means 5 why questions. Each question forms the basis for the next, which continues into the five repetitions necessary to fully solve a problem. This method can help businesses discover and drill down into smaller problems to find the root cause.

However, businesses need to note that this technique is only suitable for problems that have a correlation in cause and effect and are of moderate difficulty. Complex problems will require combination with other techniques to be effective.

2. Example of applying 5 whys in business

To better understand what the 5 whys are , let's look at the specific example below.

For example:

Company A launched a new natural shampoo product but did not receive good reception from users, leading to low sales. When applying the 5 Whys method to solve problems, business owners can refer to some example questions as follows:

• Question 1: Why do campaigns fail? – Because communication has not been as effective as expected.
• Question 2: Why has communication not been as effective as expected? – Because the images and content are not suitable for the target customer group.
• Question 3: Why are images and content not suitable for the target customer group? – Because the team has not carefully researched the market.
• Question 4: Why haven't you researched the market carefully before implementing? – Because there is not enough time and many problems arise.
• Question 5: Why do so many problems arise? – Because the director has not allocated resources appropriately.

After implementing the 5 Whys method, managers realized that the main cause of project failure was because the Director did not allocate resources appropriately. The solution is to adjust preparation time and have a more effective resource allocation plan.

3. How to use the 5 whys technique effectively

After understanding what the 5 whys are, there will certainly be times when managers need 5 whys in their life and work. How to apply this method in concrete practice, let's find out now with 1C Vietnam.

3.1 Step 1: Identify the problem

To be able to ask the right questions and apply the 5 Whys method effectively, businesses need to accurately identify the problem. Managers can synthesize important data related to key stages such as communication, process, product, quality,... to synthesize and find out the problems the business is facing.

3.2 Step 2: Ask the question "Why" to find the root cause

After determining the exact problem, the administrator will proceed to ask why questions one by one and record the answers as a basis. The following question will be based on the results of the previous question. Managers will ask questions until they find the root cause of the problem.

3.3 Step 3: Propose solutions

Enterprises need to propose solutions to overcome the found cause. The solution should be direct and clear so that it can be easily applied in practice.

3.4 Step 4: Implement solutions and evaluate results

Any solution takes time to evaluate its effectiveness. Therefore, when applied in practice, businesses need to regularly monitor and record indicators to make adjustments if necessary.

4. Benefits of analyzing 5 whys

5 Whys can bring many benefits that businesses can realize including:

• Find the main cause of the problem: Businesses applying 5 whys can dig deeper into the real causes of the problem instead of just identifying surface causes. This helps ensure the solution will have long-term value and limits the recurrence of problems in the near future.
• Save costs and time by focusing on finding the root cause of the problem. From there, businesses can reduce resources for handling secondary causes and symptoms.
• 5 Whys helps increase proactiveness in overcoming and handling by clearly understanding the root cause of the problem.

5. Some notes when applying 5 whys

Although the 5 whys have many advantages and are easy to apply in practice. However, businesses also need to note a few things below to increase the effectiveness of this method:

• Unlimited number of questions: According to the concept, 5 whys are 5 why questions. However, in reality, administrators will be flexible in the number of questions depending on the complexity of the problem being faced. Managers can completely stop at 4 sentences or increase to 6 sentences if they haven't really found the root cause.
• Ask the right questions to the heart of the problem: If you want to determine the right cause, asking the right questions is very important. If the question is wrong, it can lead to the wrong direction of analysis and not be able to completely solve the problems being encountered.
• Answer objectively and do not make predictions: Answers must be given based on data and actual situations, answered objectively and without rambling. In addition, predicting will affect the final result, so it is necessary to minimize the process of implementing 5 whys.
• Take advantage of multi-dimensional perspectives: If the business is applying the 5 whys in groups, managers should ask each person one by one and record the answers to get the most comprehensive results.

The article on 1C Vietnam has compiled detailed information about what the 5 whys are , how to apply and important notes when using this method. Hopefully, managers have gained useful knowledge in identifying and finding the root cause of the problem.