Analyze · Interactive CI tool

5 Whys

5 Whys is an evidence-led investigation that asks why a specific problem happened and follows each plausible explanation toward an actionable system condition. Five is a prompt, not a required number of levels.

Open 5 Whys Read the full guide

Read freely. Creating a worksheet requires a verified free beta account. No payment or manual beta approval.

When this tool helps

Use it for a clearly bounded problem where people can inspect the process and test explanations.

It helps a team move beyond the visible symptom without stopping at blame or the first convenient explanation.

When to choose another method

Use Fishbone to generate a broad set of hypotheses, or Root Cause Analysis Builder when several branches and validation records need to be coordinated.

How to use it in CI Tools

Read the guide and agree the question, definitions and required starting information.
Open a separate blank worksheet or the built-in synthetic practice sample. Follow the tool-specific steps and review its warnings.
Check the interpretation and save an editable .citools file to your computer. Keep reports as separate exports.

Follow the 5 Whys instructions step by step

Fictional example snapshot

Late stock replenishment

A fictional shop runs out of packaging before the weekly delivery.

Selected details from the worked example
Why 1	The reorder was not raised when stock reached the threshold
Why 2	The threshold was visible only in a spreadsheet that was not reviewed daily
Countermeasure	Assign a daily stock check and test whether orders trigger on time

These figures illustrate the method; they are not clinical instructions, universal targets or verified results from a real organization.

Read the complete worked example and its interpretation

Learn the method, then put it into practice

The full guide includes prerequisites, interface-specific steps, two fictional examples, common mistakes and interpretation help. It is available without registration.

5 Whys: guide & examples