The 5 Whys is one of the most commonly used quality system tools. It is a simple and methodical way to identify the root cause of an issue. When applied to Customer Feedback you can convert “interesting feedback” in to root causes and actions plans to drive improvement in your customer experience.

1. Using 5 Whys Root
Cause Analysis in your
Customer Feedback
Process
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Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score and NPS are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

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3. Speaker
Adam Ramshaw
– Director and owner of Genroe
– Customer Experience Management Consultant
– Customer Feedback Consultant
– Net Promoter Score®
– LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamramshaw

5. Today’s Agenda
• Why bother with Root Cause Analysis?
• How to run a 5 Whys Process
• How to use 5 Whys in your Customer Feedback Process

6. The Closed Loop Customer Feedback Process
LISTEN
UNDERSTAND
DESIGN
• Understand what
your customers
want
• Identify
Customer Loyalty
Drivers
• Target the highest
value changes to
the business
• Measure how well
are you delivering
• Perform root
cause analysis
Act on tactical
customer feedback
immediately
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React
ACT
• Implement

7. 5-Whys: A bit of history
• Where did it come from
– Developed by Sakichi Toyoda
– Used by Toyota Motor Corporation during the evolution of its
manufacturing methodologies
• What is it
– One type of root cause analysis tool
– A methodical approach to uncovering the underlying cause of
an issue.
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8. Why Root Cause Analysis?
• To Fix This Problem?
– NO, well, a little bit
• Prevent Future Problems?
– YES!!
• Benefits
– Lower Costs
– Improved Customer Loyalty
– Increased Profit
• Fix the cause not just the symptom
– Prevent it from happening again
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9. The 5 Whys Process
• Agree on the Problem Statement
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10. “If I had an hour to save the
world, I would spend 59
minutes defining the problem
and one minute finding
solutions.”
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Source: http://www.informationarchitected.com/resources/notable-quotes/albert-einstein-defining-the-problem

11. The 5 Whys Process
• Agree on the Problem statement
• Ask “Why Did this Happen?”
• Arrive at the Root Cause?
– Yes – Stop
• The real root cause should point toward a process that is not working well or
does not exist.
– No – Ask again “Why Did this Happen?”
• Address Root Cause!
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12. An Example
Problem Statement
“The vehicle will not start”
Symptom
Why?
The battery is dead.
Symptom
Why?
The alternator is not functioning.
Symptom
Why?
The alternator belt has broken.
Symptom
Why?
The alternator belt was well beyond its
useful service life and not replaced.
Symptom
Why?
The vehicle was not maintained according to
the recommended service schedule.
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Source: Example From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys
Process Root Cause!

13. What happens if you only treat the symptoms?
Problem Statement
“The vehicle will not start”
Why?
The battery is dead.
Why?
The alternator is not functioning.
Why?
The alternator belt has broken.
Why?
The alternator belt was well beyond its
useful service life and not replaced.
Why?
The vehicle was not maintained according to
the recommended service schedule.
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Source: Example From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys
Vehicle will not start next time
Vehicle will not start at some
time in the near future
Vehicle will not start at some
time in the near future
Vehicle will not start at some
time in the future
Vehicle will always start

14. You can be taken for a loop if you don’t find the process
Problem: Sales are down
 Because we are not processing enough leads
 Because we don’t have enough sales people
 Because we laid off sales people
 Because we had to cut costs
 Because sales are down
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No Process
Cause Identified!

15. Stay on Target – find the process cause
Problem Statement: Sales are down
 Because we are not processing enough leads
 Because we have not automated the leads
management process
 Because we have not invested in a CRM
 Because we did not have a business case for investment
 Process Cause: Because we do not calculate the value of leads
 Solution: Introduce a process to calculate the value of leads so we can
make better investment decisions.
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16. What to do if there are two Whys: Follow them both
Problem: Sales are down
 Because we are not processing enough leads
 Because we don’t have enough
sales people
 …
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 Because we have not automated
the leads management process
 …

17. 5 Whys benefits
• Simplicity
– It is easy to use and requires no advanced mathematics or
tools.
• Effectiveness
– It truly helps to quickly separate symptoms from causes and
identify the root cause of a problem.
• Comprehensiveness
– It aids in determining the relationships between various
problem causes.
• Engaging
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– By its very nature, it fosters and produces teamwork and
teaming within and without the organisation.

18. Using this with Net Promoter or Customer Feedback Data
– Tactical:
• Process Team weekly workshop – pick 3-5 “0” Scores and run a Five Why’s
analysis
– Strategic:
• As the second pass to a more complex problem
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19. Tactical: Using 5 Whys on Customer Feedback
• Put time on the weekly staff or group meeting agenda.
• Grab some verbatim comments from your lowest scoring responses.
– If you’re using Net Promoter then grab 0’s & 1’s.
• Frame the comment as a problem statement.
– Split it up to have one thought/idea/problem to work with at a time.
• Run the 5 Whys’ process on the first problem.
– Get to the end point in 10 or 15 minutes.
• Assign someone to take action and report back
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– Validate the analysis
– Look for a solution
– If it’s too big: assign to a team for action

20. Benefits
• Change the culture to one of action
– Get into the rhythm of change
– Easy small changes lead to bigger harder changes
– Staff engagement goes up
• People see real action from customer feedback
• Costs come down
– Less re-work
– Fewer resources required
• Improve your customer experiences
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– Customers are happier
– Net Promoter / Customer Loyalty goes up
– Profit goes up

21. Re-cap
• Why bother with Root Cause Analysis?
• How to run a 5 Whys Process
• How to use 5 Whys in your Customer Feedback Process

22. 5 Whys Resources
• Free Resources
– 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis Process
–
http://bit.ly/LNjHbD
– Free: 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis Excel Template
–
http://bit.ly/1e1L9Z4
• Services
– Customer Feedback
Root Cause Analysis and Action Training
–
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http://bit.ly/1iqoCul

23. QUESTIONS
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