beginner
30 minutes
4-12 people
Five Whys Workshop
Uncover root causes by asking why five times
A systematic technique for identifying the root cause of problems. Teams move beyond surface symptoms to discover underlying systemic issues through iterative questioning.
Ready to customize for your team?
AI will generate a workshop tailored to your industry, roles, and challenges
Learning Objective
Participants will learn to identify root causes of problems by systematically questioning beyond surface-level symptoms, developing deeper analytical thinking skills.
How It Works
The Five Whys Methodology: 1. Clearly state the problem 2. Ask "Why did this problem occur?" 3. For the answer given, ask "Why?" again 4. Repeat this process 5 times total 5. The fifth "why" typically reveals the root cause 6. Verify the root cause would prevent the original problem Rules: - Focus on systemic causes, not individual blame - Each "why" should build on the previous answer - Stop when further "whys" don't yield deeper insights - The root cause should be actionable
Example Scenarios
AI will generate scenarios like these, customized for your context:
- Healthcare: Patient handoffs consistently taking 15+ minutes during shift changes, causing delays in care
- Software Development: Production deployments failing 40% of the time, requiring rollbacks
- Consulting: Client presentations consistently running 20 minutes over time
- Manufacturing: Quality inspections catching defects only at final stage
- Retail: Customer checkout lines exceeding 10 minutes during peak hours
Customize for Your Team
Free to try • No credit card required