Understanding the five whys

When trying to understand why something happened, a common tool is the Five Whys. It's very simple - ask why something happened, and then keep on asking why, until you get the root reason.

• Why did the cat escape? The door was left open.
• Why was the door left open? The door is faulty, and sometimes doesn't close properly.
• Why is the door faulty? It needs a new lock.
• And so on.

Concept Maps are a great tool for conducting the Five Whys analysis, and takes it to a new level.

Fundamentally, problem solving is about asking questions, which leads us to greater understanding.

View all