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Loïc Thomas Profile Picture    Loïc Thomas
 in  Best practices
2 minutes

The 5 Why, an activity to solve your deepest problems

In business, challenges are mainly focused on problem solving. Ideas, methods, techniques and activities abound in order to find the most effective solution to get there. These methods, from the most serious to the funniest one, are numerous and varied and can suit any type of problem.

The activity we present you in more details is the “5 Why” method. This activity is perfectly appropriate for a deep problem solving process, in which it is difficult, at first glance, to identify solutions.

The 5 WHY

You are facing a problem that you cannot solve. You have tried several techniques of “Problem Solving” but stay deadlocked… You can then use the “5 Why” method to identify a sustainable solution. During this problem solving activity, each of your contributors will have to find solutions individually. The main goal is to stress the individual intelligence before everyone gather for a collaborative discussion and a results analysis.

The way to organize this activity is very simple. First, you should begin by clearly present your problem to your collaborators, in a relatively detailed way, so that they have all the information they need during their reflection. Then let them tackle the problem!

Here is a simple example to visualize the implementation and the problem solving process of this activity:

  • The food in the fridge is not fresh – Why?
  • The fridge does not work – Why?
  • There is no electricity – Why?
  • There was a power cut – Why?
  • There is no backup generator in case of storm

If you realize you have too much of why, it means your problem is too wide and involves too many factors! In this case, you should reframe your problem, even if you have to reproduce the problem solving process several times on the different problems identified. In contrast, if you find the final answer to your problem in less than 5 why, your problem is too precise or you didn’t go deep enough in the problem analysis…

The logical continuation of this activity is an activity to find and implement sustainable solutions.

You have the opportunity to put this activity in place with Beekast!

To help you, here is a little tutorial: * Upstream, prepare a brainstorming activity with five columns (or more if needed) corresponding to the five why. * The D-day present the problem to your employees. Each of the participants must then express thoughts and give arguments until he is no longer able to answer why. * Once each participant has given his 5 answers to the 5 why, you can have a look at the results and discuss with your contributors to find a suitable solution to this problem!

Go further and find out how Beekast can help you maximize the impact of your meetings.