How Asking 5x "Why" Will Make You Better At Solving Problems
Don't assume you know the solution to every problem.
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Key Takeaways
Don’t jump to the solution right away, first understand the problem at its core.
Ask “why” repeatedly to discover the root cause of something.
Use reverse questions to cross-check your results.
Sometimes the most obvious solution, isn’t the best solution.
Today, we are going to look at a simple yet powerful technique to break down a problem and advance to the root cause of it.
Then we're going to look at applications in project management and other fields.
And finally, we’ll dive into expert advice to apply when using this technique.
💡The reason why you want to read this:
Since we all are problem solvers - one way or the other - having a systematic approach to analyse the problems we are faced with will enable us to
find the best solution,
find a sustainable and long-term oriented solution,
become excellent problems solvers and therefore helping others more effectively.
A quick story
A few weeks ago, I was faced with a terrible problem:
My video calls kept breaking up.
I didn’t have home internet and just used my phone’s hot spot. 🤷🏻♂️
Even when there is 5G (which is usually more than good enough) available in my area, the internet connection via my phone apparently wasn’t stable enough for fluid video calls.
The obvious solution:
More speed.
I have had a Wi-Fi router and a 1GBit/s fibre glass internet connection in my previous flat.
That’s why I came up with the idea that I again needed an expensive internet connection for my current apartment.
What followed was a 2h-researching-session to find the cheapest internet provider.
The findings were shocking:
It would cost me USD 836 over two years to solve this problem.
That’s USD 418 per year, just for smooth video calling.
I was devastated.
How could this be so expensive?!
I decided to take a break, made myself a coffee and stepped outside onto the balcony for some fresh air.
But I couldn’t let go of the problem.
At this moment, I would have greatly benefited from the following technique:
Asking “Why?” 5 times
This method is widely used by designers, business analysts and project managers alike. Because it’s so simple and so powerful.
The idea is that you
describe the problem as detailed as possible
then ask 5x why it is a problem
optional: finally, you can switch gears to find a solution with asking “How?” five times.
For example:
My video calls are breaking up at any time of the day, despite 5G being available in my area. Doesn’t matter if I use MS Teams or Google Meet. Internet is generally slow. A speed test revealed that the connection is capped around 20-50 Mbit/s (problem description).
A line of questioning could have looked like this:
“Why are your video calls breaking up?”
“The internet connection is too slow.”
“Why is the internet connection slow?”
“The bandwidth is too low.”
“Why is the bandwidth low?”
“Could be because of the subscription, because the location (inside a concrete building) or because of the device I am using (mobile phone).”
“Why could the subscription be the cause of the problem?”
“Because the mobile subscription tier is too small? It’s not too small - supports up to 5G.”
“Why could the location be an issue?”
“Because the concrete walls are too thick for the signal to get through? On the balcony, the problem persists.”
“Then why could the device be the problem?”
“Because it doesn’t support a fast enough Wi-Fi connection? It actually only supports 4G.”
There you have it.
My 5-year-old mobile phone just had a low-performing 4G-module, which is limiting the data throughput I can use (root cause).
The solution was to purchase of new phone for USD 621 that supports 5G.
Lifetime of the phone: 5+ years.
Cost per year: less than USD 125.
(For the techies: Yes, I am aware that 4G can be used up to 300 MBit/s (hypothetically) - which is enough for smooth video calling. And that also 50 Mbit/s could be sufficient for video calls. Still, my phone limited the bandwidth, maybe due to the hot spot used…)
As we see, sometimes the most obvious solution (new fibre glass subscription) is not the best one (new 5G capable mobile phone).
Also, it’s not that you need to ask “why” five times. Sometimes you understand the problem just after asking it twice. Then again, sometimes you need to ask it ten times.
The goal is to ask as many times as needed until you discover the real cause.
Bottom line:
Take a second, before you jump to conclusions, and don’t make any hasty assumptions.
The best solution always comes from understanding the problem on a deeper level.
5x why in different scenarios
For business analysts the 5x-why-method probably is a fixed and reliable tool in your PM tool belt to define the requirements for a solution.
But other professions might also benefit from this problem-analysis technique:
Investors: Money managers could use the 5x-why to get to the bottom of economic changes in a company’s financials.
The revenues have declined. Why have they declined? Because of lower sales volume. Why did the sales volume decrease? Because the website was temporarily down. Why was the website down? Because…
Project managers: PMs could figure out why certain stakeholders are torpedoing their project.
The CSO is actively speaking out against the development of a new supplier management app. Why is he pushing back on the development of the app? Because it will take considerable IT resources. Why does the CSO care about IT-resources? Because he/she wants to develop a CRM add-on in-house. Why does the add-on need to be designed in-house? Because it uses sensitive data. Why….?
What this example shows is that we can also use this line of questioning to increase our empathy towards others. To see behind the obvious problem (push-back) to find the deeper laying root cause for certain behaviour.
Expert advice
If you want to learn more about this technique and other design thinking methods, I highly recommend having a look at The Design Thinking Toolbox, where the following points are taken from (p. 69):
Again, don’t try to make assumptions.
When you use the technique as an interviewing method to get to the bottom of a problem someone else is facing, let your interview partner lead the way. Just ask follow-up questions, without making any assumptions.
Don’t stop asking questions too soon.
For obvious reasons, you want to ask “why” as often as you need or until you feel a bit uncomfortable, even. Maybe you discover other topics along the way - you never know.
Use reverse questions to check your results.
To check or even further breaking the problem down and finding the root cause, try asking reverse questions.
Direct question:
“Why could the location be an issue?”
“Because I use my phone inside and because there are concrete walls that might prohibit the signal.”
Reverse question:
“If you went outside, would the video calls still break up?”
“Yes, even on the balcony, the problem persists.”
So, the location cannot be the root cause and we need to dig further.
I hope this article was interesting and helpful to you.
Please consider leaving a comment below, by sharing your thoughts on this newsletter.
Happy problem-solving.
PS: Did you find this post about the 5x-why-method helpful? If yes, how will you use this technique in your work?
