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5 Whys

Pick the sprint's most painful problem and ask 'why' five times until the root cause appears. Narrow but deep — best when one issue clearly dominates.

Steps

  1. 8 min
    Pick the problem

    Collect candidate problems, vote, choose one — phrase it as a fact.

  2. 20 min
    Ask why, five times

    Chain the whys visibly; branch if answers split. Facts, not blame.

  3. 7 min
    Verify the root cause

    Read the chain backwards: does each 'therefore' hold?

  4. 10 min
    Decide countermeasures

    Agree 1–2 owned actions that attack the root, not the symptom.