Root cause analysis
5 Whys
State a problem you can observe, then ask why five times. The discipline is not the counting — it is refusing to stop at the first answer that sounds sufficient.
Problem → why → why → why → why → why → root cause → countermeasure
Step 1 — Problem
State what happened in terms someone outside the team could check. “Refunds took nine days” — not “the refund process is broken”.
Step 2 — The chain
Each answer explains the one above it. If an answer names a person, ask what let that happen — the next why is usually the useful one.
Step 3 — Root cause
A good root cause names a process, a rule or a missing check — something you could change on Monday.
Step 4 — Countermeasure
What changes, who owns it, and how you will know it worked. A countermeasure with no verification is an intention.
1 of 4
Result
Start with the problem, stated as something observable.
Next step
Numbers are the easy half.
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