Loading...

About How we built this Sponsorship Privacy Policy Terms of Use Cookie Policy Refund Policy Accessibility Disclaimer

© 2026 Faster Than Normal. All rights reserved.

Faster Than Normal.

People Businesses

Home
Decision tools
5 Whys

Finding Root Causes

5 Whys

Drill vertically into a single causal chain by asking why repeatedly until you hit the root

1 min read

On this page

Overview

Overview

Drill vertically into a single causal chain by asking why repeatedly until you hit the root

Decision Tools Library — Browse by phase

FramingHard Choice Model Cynefin Framework Reversibility Test Reframing Abstraction Laddering SWOT Analysis

Root Causes5 WhysIshikawa Diagram Iceberg Model Pareto Analysis Issue Trees First Principles

GeneratingInversion SCAMPER Zwicky Box Productive Thinking

EvaluatingDecision Matrix Six Thinking Hats Cost-Benefit Analysis Decision Tree Scenario Planning

Stress-TestingPre-Mortem Second-Order Thinking Ladder of Inference Conflict Resolution

PrioritisingEisenhower Matrix Impact-Effort Matrix Speed vs. Quality

UncertaintyOODA Loop Regret Minimisation

How to cite

Faster Than Normal. “5 Whys — Decision Tool.” fasterthannormal.co/decision-tools/5-whys. Accessed 2026.

On this page

Overview