There are many problems
Usually a problem is defined as our need to get something or get rid of something, or we have a need to avoid certain things happening. Problems can also arise when we don’t know how to decide – hence the problem of making a decision. The goal is to identify the root causes. That enables the problem to be solved for the long term.
Real root causes are often obscured by problems that are visible, but are not at the core of the issue. If you want to resolve the real causes, you must not be satisfied with fixing obvious symptoms. You need to find the real root of whatever it is – a problem, issue or conflict.
An example from the medical field
By asking Why? five times, you are able to recognize systemic relationships connected to the problem, according to an article on the management-issues.com website. So let's have a look at medicine. How would we solve the problem of patients receiving the wrong medication?
1) Why is the patient getting the wrong medicine? The prescription was wrong.
2) Why is prescription wrong? The doctor made an incorrect decision.
3) Why did she make an incorrect decision? She didn’t have the complete information about the patient.
4) Why didn’t she have the complete information? Her assistant omitted a lab report.
5) Why the report wasn’t included? Because the lab technician told the results to the receptionist who forgot to pass it on to the assistant.
Now we see that the solution is to track lab reports better – perhaps by the introduction of a system of some kind. The weakness is in the process, not in an individual. These are the kinds of problems The 5 Whys are a simple, yet very powerful technique for these types of problems.
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