> I don't mean to be snarky, but if you're looking for a linear flow or singular root cause, you're doing it wrong. It's literally just getting you in the door and past the most immediate symptoms.
If you read this thread there are literally multiple interpretations of what the 5-whys actually means, each of which results in a roundabout No True Scotsman argument. Including yours.
I’d prefer to see the 5-why’s as what it actually is: an aphorism about not treating symptoms but rather problems. The aphorism is useful…attempts to define it as some kind of formal tool are a waste of everybody’s time. There are plenty of tools (such as Ishikawa diagrams) out there that represent a better implementation of the aphorism, and 5-whys can be replaced entirely by them.
Is it actually that? I'm pretty sure that the term comes out of the Toyota Production System, in which kaizen, or continuous improvement, is the heart of the process. Given that the Ishikawa diagram also comes out of post-war Japan's industrial process quality improvement community, I would be very surprised if Totota didn't make use of Ishikawa diagrams in practice.
If you read this thread there are literally multiple interpretations of what the 5-whys actually means, each of which results in a roundabout No True Scotsman argument. Including yours.
I’d prefer to see the 5-why’s as what it actually is: an aphorism about not treating symptoms but rather problems. The aphorism is useful…attempts to define it as some kind of formal tool are a waste of everybody’s time. There are plenty of tools (such as Ishikawa diagrams) out there that represent a better implementation of the aphorism, and 5-whys can be replaced entirely by them.