48 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
48 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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description: Use the "Five Whys" root cause analysis technique to deeply understand problems.
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---
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# Five Whys Analysis
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Use the "Five Whys" root cause analysis technique to deeply understand problems.
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## Process:
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### 1. Define the Problem
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Clearly state the issue or symptom
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### 2. Ask "Why?" Five Times
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- Why did this problem occur? → Answer 1
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- Why did Answer 1 happen? → Answer 2
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- Why did Answer 2 happen? → Answer 3
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- Why did Answer 3 happen? → Answer 4
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- Why did Answer 4 happen? → Answer 5 (Root Cause)
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### 3. Validate Root Cause
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- Verify the logical chain
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- Check if addressing root cause prevents recurrence
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- Consider multiple root causes if applicable
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### 4. Develop Solutions
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- Address the root cause, not just symptoms
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- Create preventive measures
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- Consider systemic improvements
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## Example:
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**Problem**: Application crashes when processing large files
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1. **Why?** → The application runs out of memory
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2. **Why?** → It loads entire file into memory at once
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3. **Why?** → The file parser wasn't designed for streaming
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4. **Why?** → Initial requirements only specified small files
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5. **Why?** → Requirements gathering didn't consider future growth
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**Root Cause**: Incomplete requirements gathering process
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**Solution**: Implement streaming parser and improve requirements process
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## Best Practices:
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- Focus on process, not people
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- Look for systemic issues
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- Document the analysis
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- Involve relevant stakeholders
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- Test solutions address root cause |