5 Whys

Have you ever asked someone "why" they did something and they gave you an answer that didn't really explain why? That's kind of like a guessing and not getting to the real reason.

The 5 whys is a way to find out the real reason why something happened. You keep asking "why" until you get to the root cause.

Let's use an example of a plant dying:

1. Why did the plant die? Because it didn't have enough water.
2. Why didn't it have enough water? Because I forgot to water it.
3. Why did you forget to water it? Because I was busy with other things.
4. Why were you busy with other things? Because I had a lot of work to do.
5. Why didn't you prioritize watering the plant? Because I didn't realize it was important.

So in this example, the root cause of the plant dying was not realizing the importance of watering it regularly. By asking "why" five times, we were able to get to the real reason behind the plant's death.