Five is a guide, not a rule
You may find a supported root cause after three questions or need more than five. Stop when the team reaches a cause it can control and has evidence to support.
PROBLEM SOLVER 06
5 Whys Analysis
Follow the cause-and-effect chain beyond the first explanation, then assign an action and a way to confirm the fix worked.
LOCALAUTO-SAVE
Problem investigation
Saved on this deviceAvoid the blame trap
“The operator made a mistake” usually ends the investigation too early. Ask what instruction, design, training, detection or workload condition made the error possible. Test assumptions with records, observation and the people who do the work.