What is the purpose of the Five Whys technique?

• A. To outline marketing strategy
• B. To find the underlying cause of a problem
• C. To estimate project costs
• D. To assign blame for an issue

Answer: (B)

The Five Whys is a problem‑solving approach that digs into a problem by repeatedly asking why it happened. This helps move past surface symptoms to uncover the underlying cause, so you can address the real issue rather than just treating the visible effects. By tracing the chain of causes, you often reach a root process problem that, once fixed, prevents the issue from recurring. It’s widely used in quality improvement and Lean thinking, but it’s also applicable to service, IT, and project work. The “five” is a guideline—you may need more or fewer questions to get to a plausible root cause. Importantly, the purpose is to understand systems and processes, not to blame people. This technique isn’t about outlining a marketing plan, estimating costs, or assigning blame; those tasks rely on other methods.