How do you use 5 whys to identify the root cause of a performance gap?

Imagine your sales are below target (the gap). Ask "why?" (e.g., fewer leads). Ask "why?" again for each answer (e.g., weak marketing campaigns). Dig deeper until you reach a core cause, like outdated website design hindering lead generation. Boom! You've found the root cause to fix, not just a symptom. Remember, sometimes "why" leads to multiple contributing factors, not just one single answer.

Use the "5 Whys" technique by asking "why" repeatedly to delve deeper into the cause of the performance gap. Start with the symptom and ask why it occurred, then continue asking why until reaching the underlying root cause. Analyze each answer to uncover systemic issues and implement effective solutions.

Asking why, sometimes more than five times, is crucial to arrive at root causes BUT you need to establish a range of reasons why something happened NOT just how. what. when, where or who.. The book “Beyond the Five Whys: Root cause analysis and systems thinking” published by Wiley puts these questions into a fuller perspective.

To improve RCA using 5 whys we need to make sure that all our decision-making during a problem investigation is DATA-DRIVEN, i.e., based on solid evidence. This is of utmost importance. Additionally, we need to keep in mind the following: - Our analysis should be COMPREHENSIVE, i.e., all potential factors at play should be considered. - There could be multiple contributing causes, and this possibility should not be overlooked for a COMPLETE analysis - Prior solved problems can provide valuable information to guide our diagnosis, including frequently malfunctioning areas as well as uncommon causes.

As a consultant, I wield the 5 Whys like a detective's magnifying glass. We start with the performance gap, the "what." Then, a relentless "why" chase. Why are sales lower? Ineffective training? Why? Poor onboarding materials. Why? Rushed development due to budget cuts. Aha! The root cause - a financial decision impacting sales. The 5 Whys is sharp, but not flawless. It can get stuck in symptom loops, and sometimes the "whys" don't lead to a single root cause. But it's a fantastic tool to peel back layers and uncover the truth behind the performance gap.

In my experience, 5 Whys analysis is often not adequate for complex problems. This is because systems today have many different components and there could be several potential causes to investigate and also multiple contributing causes for a problem. Fishbone analysis in contrast provides a clear map of the investigation space and one can systematically investigate and eliminate different categories of potential causes. However the two approaches are not mutually exclusive. The 5 Why's technique can be incorporated within the fishbone framework, by doing deeper analysis on each potential cause.

Six sigma might be dead, but it’s left good ideas like FishBone analysis behind. Nothing ever goes to a complete waste. That’s the power of recycling.