Tactic 5 Defining The Real Problem

One of the key challenges in any piece of work is understanding the real problem that you’re trying to solve. For example, are customers not using computers to access council services because they don’t want to, don’t know they can, don’t know how to or don’t have access to the technology?

The 5 Whys is a technique used in the Analyze phase of the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology.

By repeatedly asking the question “Why” (five is a good rule of thumb), you can peel away the layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the ostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question. Although this technique is called “5 Whys,” you may find that you will need to ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the issue related to a problem.

For inspiration

A fun example of 5 Whys

Written on February 23, 2017


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