An effective way to solve your problems – Even TOYOTA uses this approach

Have you ever experienced the same problem so often that you began to think the gods were against you? Or have you ever felt so stuck in an unpleasant reality for much longer than you felt you should?

Well, maybe it’s high time you stopped treating symptoms, and started curing the condition. But curing the condition wouldn’t be possible without understanding the root cause of the problem and putting in place counter measures to solve the problems once and for all.

So how do you go about it? Read on.

The concept called “Root Cause Analysis (RCA)” helps you effectively solve problems right from the source or root. The analysis was developed to enable you (or your team) identify what went wrong, and “why” it happened. You see, actually understanding why a problem exists is necessary for developing an effective cure.

In the field of management science, there are several tools used to solve both simple and complex business, social, and economic problems. But for the sake of making this article concise. I would love to focus on just one of these tools. It is called the “5 Whys”.

Origins of the “5 Whys” Technique

The 5 Whys technique was developed in the 1930s by Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries; and the technique became popular in the 1970s, and till date, Toyota still uses it to solve problems.

What Does the “5 Whys” Technique Entail?

The 5 Whys Technique entails that whenever a problem arises, you simply drill down to its root cause by asking "Why?" five times (or a little more than 5 in some cases) until a counter-measure becomes apparent for you to follow through, in order to prevent that problem from happening again.

Flashback: To identify the root cause of a problem, Taiichi Ohno of Toyota would ask workers to ask “why?” five times. Which basically meant framing a problem as a question, asking “why?” writing down each of the causes and for each cause, asking “why?” until no more answers can be obtained. By the time workers had asked “why?” five times, they were usually at the root cause of any problem at the factory.

How to Use The 5 Whys

Using the 5 Whys Technique requires that you follow ADAAKAM, the seven-step process below:

1. Assemble a Team: Gather all parties that are familiar with the specifics of a problem that needs to be solved, and appoint a facilitator to keep the team focused on identifying effective counter-measures.

2. Define the Problem: Discuss the issue with the team, and then write a clear and concise problem statement that the team agrees on. After that, write your statement on a whiteboard leaving enough space around it to add your answers to the repeated question, "Why?"

3. Ask the First "Why”: Ask your team why the identified problem is occurring. Asking "Why?" in this process is not a trivia act, as a matter of fact, answering it requires some serious thinking grounded in facts. Which means that the answers to each “why?” must be based on things that have actually happened, not guesses of what might have happened.

This ensures that “5 Whys” does not become a process of mere deductive reasoning, which often generates many possible causes and sometimes, results in more confusion as the team chases down hypothetical problems.

4. Ask "Why?" Four More Times: For each of the answers generated in Step 3 above, ask four more whys, and each time, frame a new question in response to the preceding answers.

5. Know When to Stop: You can easily tell that you have revealed the root cause of the identified problem, when asking "why" produces no more useful answers, at this point stop.

If you identified more than one reason in Step 3 above, repeat this process for each of the different branches of your analysis until you reach a root cause for each one.

6. Address the Root Cause(s): By the time that you have clearly identified at least one or more root cause(s), you need to deliberate and agree on a counter-measure that will prevent the problem from recurring.

7. Monitor Your Measures: Track how effectively your counter-measures eliminate or minimize the initial problem. You may also need to amend them, or replace them entirely. If this happens, it is a good idea to repeat the 5 Whys process to ensure that you have identified the correct root cause. 

In conclusion, the “5 Whys” technique is a simple and very effective tool for getting to the roots of a problem and solving it. But bear in mind that although complex problems may require a more detailed approach, using the “5 Whys” first will reveal useful insights.

Tip: In order to validate the discovered root cause, ask: “If I eliminate this root cause, would this problem end?”

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