AVAREN Blog Post
The Japanese “5 Whys” Problem Solving Technique
by James Kirk. August 2009
Are you aware of the problem solving technique called
the "5 Whys"? It's a technique originally developed
decades ago in Japanese manufacturing plants, and is now
used the world over as an aid to get quickly to the root
of a problem. Simply put, you continue to ask the
question "Why" until a root cause is found. Here are a
few examples of how to use the technique. My computer will not get on
the internet. - PROBLEM
Why? 1 - My browser displays a "Page cannot be found"
error. Why? 2 - My computer says that
it is disconnected from the network.
Why? 3 - There is no "link" light on my computer's
network card even with the cable plugged in.
Why? 4 - The network switch my computer's network cable
is attached to seems to be off. Why? 5
- The switch's power cord has become disconnected.
(OFTEN ROOT CAUSE) Or I am uncertain about our
server backup situation. - PROBLEM WHY? 1 - The few tapes we do have
almost never make it offsite. WHY? 2 - Our backup situation
requires unnecessary human interaction.
WHY? 3 - Because we have an antiquated tape backup
system. WHY? 4 - We do not have
veteran network engineers serving as our
advocates in this area. WHY? 5 - We
are not using AVAREN as our IT department. (OFTEN ROOT
CAUSE) The technique
will generally only find one root cause for any problem.
In
situations where more than one root cause is to blame
additional repetitions or even additional techniques can
be necessary. Nonetheless, if you find yourself with a
problem and don't know how to begin troubleshooting,
this easy to remember technique can often yield quick
results.
FURTHER READING For
troubleshooting process issues within larger
organizations, cause and effect diagrams such as the
Ishikawa diagram can be very helpful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishikawa_diagram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys
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