The root of a problem - garrett-401-advanced-javascript/seattle-js-401d39 GitHub Wiki

5 Whys Technique You can use the 5 why's technique for QA, troubleshooting, and problem-solving but it is best suited for solving simple to moderately complex problems.

1. Assemble a team that's well suited to help you tackle the problem. Including a facilitator to keep the team focused.
2. Define the problem you're trying to solve. "Patient A keeps yelling for help but doesn't know what's wrong"
3. Ask why and provide answers grounded in facts only. "patient A doesn't know why he can't move his legs"
4. For each answer in step 3 ask why four more times. "Patient A has dementia", "Patient A has a UTI", "Patient A wants someone to talk to", Patient A giggles when we show up, he enjoys picking on people."
5. Know when to stop. When you stop producing useful information then you have collected enough information and should stop. Rewording previous solutions isn't a new solution. People have things to do so don't bog it down with extra input.
6. Address the problems you've brainstormed. After you think you've found the root problem, fix it.
7. Monitor results to assess whether you've found the root problem and fixed it. This could be so simple as keeping record of whether the issue crops up again.