The Five Whys: Getting to the Root Cause - Product Builder Podcast episode with Eyal David
00:04:59

The Five Whys: Getting to the Root Cause

Host: · Guest: Eyal Pinko · About the host

In this episode

  • The Five Whys is a simple, iterative method: you ask "why" over and over to break through from the symptom to the root cause of the problem.
  • Before you start asking "why," you first need to understand and define the problem — pull data around it and identify patterns.
  • The answers must be based on facts and not guesses, otherwise you get stuck in the same place; challenge every assumption you receive.
  • You stop when you identify a systemic problem that will recur, when you feel the "eureka" sense of satisfaction, when solving the problem will also solve other problems, or when you reach a dead end.
  • It's best to run the process as a cross-functional group with open questions — listen as much as possible, talk as little as possible, and come with a lot of curiosity.

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Episode Description

A short, focused, no-nonsense (takhles) episode on the Five Whys method — a simple, iterative framework that originated at Toyota, in which you ask "why" over and over until you reach the true root cause of the problem and not just the symptom. Eyal Pinko demonstrates the method on two cases — a website that crashed and shopping-cart abandonment — and explains when to kick off the process, when to stop, and which conditions (understanding the problem, a cross-functional group, open questions, facts instead of guesses, and curiosity) make it effective.

Read the full transcript
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps

Selected quotes

“Until we fix the root cause — that we don't do good enough training — the problem will recur, and it'll happen again and again.”
— Eyal Pinko
“The answers must be based on facts, not guesses. Because if it's guesses, you'll get stuck in the same place.”
— Eyal Pinko
“It's a relatively easy method to penetrate a bit deeper, and you need to come with a whole lot of curiosity — that, that's the key.”
— Eyal Pinko

Questions & answers

What is the Five Whys method and where did it come from?

A simple, intuitive framework that originated at Toyota in the last century. It's an iterative method in which you ask "why" about five times (roughly) to get from the root of the symptom to the real problem.

What do you need to do before you start asking "why"?

First of all, you need an understanding of the problem — you can't just declare what the problem is and go straight to Why. You need to pull data around it, try to find patterns and define it properly, and preferably set up a cross-functional group for the process.

How do you know when to stop?

You stop when you realize the problem is systemic and will recur, when a satisfying "eureka" feeling arrives, when solving the problem will also solve other problems, or when you reach a dead end where all the answers become similar and there's no additional information.

What do you do if you get stuck and can't reach the fifth question?

It may be that the problem itself wasn't defined well enough, or that there aren't enough of the relevant people in the room to answer. Sometimes you can also stop before the fifth question if the root cause has already been identified.

What are the conditions for the process to succeed?

Open questions phrased precisely (usually based on an element from the previous answer), lots of listening and little talking, constantly challenging the assumptions, relying on facts rather than guesses, and repeating the process several times — and most importantly, a lot of curiosity.

Five Whys root cause analysis product management problem solving takhles Product Builder Toyota

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