5-Whys Root Cause Analysis

A systematic technique for drilling down through symptoms to uncover the true root cause of a problem by repeatedly asking "Why?" until the fundamental issue is revealed.

When to Use This Skill

• Bug investigation where the obvious fix didn't work
• Production incidents requiring post-mortem analysis
• Performance problems with unclear origins
• Recurring issues that keep coming back after "fixes"
• System failures requiring prevention, not just recovery
• Any situation where treating symptoms isn't enough

Core Process

Phase 1: Define the Problem Clearly

State the problem as a specific, observable fact: