5 whys
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The 5 whys is a robust tool for analyzing the root cause of problems in 6-sigma. 6-sigma is a management concept used to spot and remove wasteful practices which enables an organization to use minimal resources to actualize maximum yield. This implies that in 6-sigma, activities that do not add value to the entire process are removed, while the value-adding activities are enhanced to ensure good quality and customers are satisfied. 6-sigma has a well-defined quality improvement methodology known as DMAIC which is an acronym that stands for the processes involved in this methodology. DMAIC stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control. The 5 whys belong to the “Analyze” phase of DMAIC.
Having an idea of what 6-sigma gives us a better understanding of how important the 5 whys is as an analytic tool. Problems occur at various points in our day to day running of businesses, but it is known that problems are only symptoms of underlying causes. We could decide to give the problem a quick fix so that we get on with our normal activities, but the quick fix is only temporal as the underlying causes of the problem remains hence a reoccurrence is almost inevitable. This is where the 5 whys comes into play. It is a tool used to peel layers and layers of a problem until the root cause is found. This is achieved by asking why five times. Doing this helps unveil the root cause of the problem and identifies all the layers leading to this root cause thereby making it easy to avoid and mitigate against a further reoccurrence. The 5 why is a unique tool in the sense that it is simple to use, helps show the relationship among the various root causes of a problem and it is an easy analytic method that does not require statistical analysis.
