Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 17

5 Why Analysis

Overview

The 5 Why Analysis can be used to determine the root cause for a problem by repeatedly asking "Why." This analysis uses a structured approach to arrive at the root cause of the problem so that the problem can be fixed once and for all. It is usually observed that when people talk about a problem, they describe the symptom, not the root cause, and directly jump to a solution. Attacking the symptom to solve a problem would not result in a permanent fix of the problem, and unless the actual root cause is addressed, the problem keeps coming back.


To add this tool to your workbook, click on Lean and then select 5 Why Analysis.

Inputs

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
Setup Dialog 1
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Analysis Type: Specify the format of the chart. This selection is not enabled since there is only one format available.
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Num Whys: Specify how many Whys you plan to use for your analysis. The number of whys you specify here will impact how the worksheet is formatted. You can change this number later, but ensure you have sufficient whys. The default value is 5.
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Display Elements: You can customize your worksheet by displaying the elements you are interested in. By default, the 5Why worksheet always contains the problem statement row, the root cause row, and the response to the 5Why questions. However, depending on your situation, you may show more information on the worksheet. This will help you guide the discussions within your team to arrive at the correct root causes and countermeasures. Select the checkbox for the following items:
OptionDescription
CountermeasuresDisplay the countermeasure row on the worksheet. The countermeasure row can be used to document the "solutions" to address the identified root causes.
ImpactDisplay the impact row on the worksheet.
QuestionDisplay the 5Why question in addition to the response column.
Evi2denceDisplay what fact or evidence you have collected for each 5Why question.
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View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool, or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
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Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
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Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
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Create Design: Click on this button to format the worksheet template. You can also update the worksheet format any time, but remember that you may lose any data on this worksheet. Once you are happy with the worksheet template layout, you must enter any required data on the worksheet. When the data entered into the worksheet is complete, you can click on Analysis Setup and then Compute Outputs to generate analysis results.
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Analyze Design: Click on this button to save all changes and compute the outputs for this analysis. Review the results of your analysis and make changes to your inputs if required to update analysis results.
Once the worksheet has been formatted, enter the information on the worksheet as follows:
NumDescription
1Write a short one-line description of the problem statement for which you want to perform the 5Why analysis. Make sure that if there are several problems you are working on, each problem will have its 5Why analysis worksheets.
2The root cause row contains the final root cause of this analysis. Leave this row blank, as the software will fill this row for you based on the response to the final 5Why question on your worksheet. The software will overwrite any information you enter on this row.
3If you have selected to display the countermeasure row, once you have completed the 5Why analysis and determined the root cause, fill out the countermeasure row. The countermeasure could be a combination of both temporary and permanent countermeasures.
4If you have selected to display the impact row, share the impact of addressing this root cause and the selected solution on the problem statement. For example, this countermeasure will resolve 70% of the problem (or will result in a benefit of $100K).
5Continue asking why and fill out the above information for each why. Note that there may be more than one cause for a problem statement. Make sure the causes you enter are validated - in the sense that you should have verified by going to the Gemba that this cause has been observed. For each 5Why block, you need to fill out the following:
6If you have selected to display the 5Why question, frame the right 5Why question and display the question here. You should display the 5Why question clearly so other participants can review your thinking and ensure you have done the right analysis.
7Enter the response to the 5Why question in the next row. Ensure the response is factual and based on the evidence you have collected. Don't guess the probable response here. If there are multiple causes, specify the most important cause or create multiple worksheets for each cause.
8If you have selected to display the 5Why evidence, share the evidence you collected to justify the response indicated in the earlier column.
9Continue asking why until you have reached an actionable root cause within your team's control.

Checklist

If you click on the Checklist button, you will see the following dialog box. Checklist The checklist contains a few pointers on things you must pay particular attention to while performing this analysis. The checklist has been derived from experience working on past projects. Not all the checklist items need to apply to you. However, you should carefully review the checklist and apply any recommendations that make sense for your project. Make sure to read each checklist item and mark it as completed after you have read and taken actions as appropriate for your project.
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Item: The items on the checklist are listed on the left
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Status: The status of whether the checklist has been answered is listed on the right.
Ideally, all items on the checklist should be marked as reviewed/completed.

Verify

If you click the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The software checks if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, they are shown as green-colored checkmarks. If the verification checks fail, they are shown as a red-colored cross. The verification checks are shown in the orange exclamation mark if the verification checks result in a warning. Finally, any checks required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.
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Item: The left-hand side shows the major tabs and the items checked within each section
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Status: The right-hand side shows the status of the checks.
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Overall Status: Shows the overall status of all the checks performed. If all the checked items are okay, the status image in the header will show a green checkmark. The header status image will show a red cross mark if any checks fail.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to generate the analysis results. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. 5 Why Example Based on the options specified in the input dialog box, the software will check if all the required rows of data have been filled out on the worksheet and if you have answered all the check-box questions in the affirmative. Any errors on your worksheet are displayed at the top of the page, and if everything is fine, the following message will appear. 5 Why Outputs

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:
  • You can analyze a maximum of 10 whys using this analysis. If you have several parallel paths for root cause analysis, you can use multiple worksheets to perform the root cause analysis for each path.

Examples

The following examples are in the software's Examples folder.
  • Use the 5 Why analysis to determine a potential root cause for the problem of the fuse getting blown very frequently for a given equipment (5 Why Example 1.xlsx)
  • Use the 5 Why analysis to determine the potential root causes for poor product quality. (5 Why Example 2.xlsx)

References

For more information, refer to the following:

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