Sei sulla pagina 1di 3

Why-Why Diagram

One of the most important questions in quality is Why?. From Kaoru Ishikawas early usage of cause-effect diagrams in the early 1940s and Toyotas use of Five Whys in the early 1950s as they developed their famous Toyota Production System, the drive to find root causes of problems has been the secret of many quality success stories. How it works Why-Why works by repeatedly asking the same question of a problem, breaking down the cause or solution into more and more explicit elements. At each stage, there can be multiple answers to the Why questions, which results in a hierarchical tree-structure. Making this tree visible gives several advantages:  It allows a group of people to share the mental model of the situation and hence work more harmoniously on it.  It allows re-examination of parts of the analysis, so you can change, remove or add to it at any time. This supports the non-linear way in which we tend to think.  It allows you to consciously not to follow some paths, digging only into the most likely areas.

Why-Why-Why Diagram

How to do it
1. Write the problem on a Post-it Note and place it to the left of a large work area on the wall. A big sheet of brown paper or several flip-chart pages taped together can help.

2. Ask What are the main sub-areas that may lead to this problem?. Write each of these on a Post-it Note and stick them up, well spaced out (to allow lower-level trees to develop) to the right of the problem Post-it Note. 3. Repeat this sequence of breaking down the problem once more, this time simply asking Why does this happen? 4. After this third level, a fourth detailed level would overcrowd the work area, so start to focus by only developing likely-looking causes or solution areas. In each of these, keep asking Why until you have a root cause or a complete solution. 5. When you have completed the analysis, discuss and identify the key cause to address. When examining the diagram, the same sub-cause may turn up several times in various places. This may well mean that if these are addressed, then you will kill several birds with one stone, getting multiple benefits from one action.

Introverted Left-Brain (ILB) Thinking


This process involves a logical analysis of what the obstacle is and what is causing it. The technique often used here is sometimes known as the Why-Why diagram, although there are many other good techniques available (see Why-Why Diagram below).

Did you know that if you ask Why? three to five times you can identify the root cause of a problem or issue? Children often ask Why? because their curious and open mind is trying to explore how things work or they are trying to better understand their surrounding environment. As adults we tend not to ask Why? that often because we either have already formed our own preconceived perceptions or are afraid to challenge the status quo.

A Why-Why diagram can be used to identify the causes of a particular situation in a systematic way[1]. The Figure below shows an example of a Why-Why diagram. The problem statement is written on the left hand side and then by asking Why? a number of possible causes are identified. Asking Why? again leads us to further causes and finally to the root causes of problem. Even though it is simple, this technique is very powerful because it looks at the overall problem as opposed to focusing on a single cause.

The example in the Why-Why Diagram above aims to solve the problem of poor sales relating to a particular product. In many organisations the result of poor sales of a product is usually perceived as poor performance of the Sales Manager and/or the Sales Team. The first inclination is to replace the Sales Manager and/or the Sales Team, however when this is done inconsiderately the result is typically the same continuing poor sales. The organisation has failed to clearly identify the root cause of the problem. From the example above there can be a number of different reasons why a product has poor sales. The Why-Why Diagram provides a disciplined approach to explore all the possible causes of a problem and not to focus on a single preconceived possible cause. Humans need to continue to ask Why? as a means of fulfilling the needs of their curious minds. We also have been given the freedom and opportunity to challenge the status quo in our society, in our environment, of our governments and in our working lives, otherwise we will become complacent and accept what we have been told by someone else.

Potrebbero piacerti anche