Analysing problems and preparing decision making

1. Tool D10The five whys
The five whys is a very simple but highly efficient tool analysing ef-
fect and cause as well as solution and effects. By simply asking why
through up to five generations of whys it leads to a very concen-
trated effort with rapid results in little time, if it used on clearly
discernible problems and issues.
Starting from a defined problem you ask
for the main causes leading to this prob-
lem. In a second step, you ask for each
of the resulting answers again why it
comes to this. And so on. The result is a
hierarchical root structure of effects
and causes leading to
these effects.
Once you have identi-
fied the causes of a
problem you can de-
velop solutions. As we
know, solutions that
seem to be the best at first sight might
turn out as not so good once they are
practiced.
Therefore, the tool can also be used the other way round. Starting
with a solution, you ask for the main effects. In a second step, you
ask for further possible effects linked to the princi-
pal ones, and so on. The result is a hierarchical tree
of possible effects created by the implementation
of your solution. It may turn out that not all effects
are wanted. So you can invest in avoiding unwanted
side effects by improving your solution or the way
of its implementation. Or you check through your
seemingly second best solution in the same way.
The visual result is a deductive linear mind map which can be hori-
zontal from right to left or vice versa, vertical up and vertical down.
Try to choose the visualisation structure which best represents the
problem. Of course, a non-linear mind map will equally lead to good
results.
Choose the structure
of visualisation which
suits you best.
23.07.2008, 08:07:13