The Five Whys is a fantastic method to use to get to the core of a person’s beliefs and motivations. The designer can use this method while conducting an interview and start with really broad questions like “Do you save much money?” or “How was your harvest this year?” Then, by asking why five times we can get to some essential answers to complicated problems.
By why multiple times you can uncover the underlying problem.
Five why's can be used during a user interview.
Steps:
- This one is pretty easy. Start by asking a pretty broad question about your Interview participant’s habits or behaviors then ask “why” to their response five times in a row.
- Remember that you’re not asking a horizontal question, (ie “Why else didn’t you get a good harvest this year?”) you’re actually going for depth (ie “Why weren’t you able to buy the fertilizer you needed?”).
- Write down what you hear, paying special attention to moments when it feels like you’ve moved a level deeper into understanding why the person does what she does.
- Keep in mind that you might not get to the core stuff until the fourth or fifth “Why.”
Q1. Why are processing of jobs delayed?
A1.1 There is no computerized solution to handle job applications.
A1.2 There was no formal set of procedures to handle job requests, and procedures were passed on by mouth as opposed to being documented.
Q2.1 Why is there no computerized solution to handle job applications?
A2.1 There was staff resistance.
Q2.2 Why was there was no formal set of procedures to handle job requests, and why were procedures were passed on by mouth as opposed to being documented?
A2.2 There was no system in place to do so.
Q3.1 Why was there staff resistance?
A3.1.1 They were not explained the full benefits of the system.
A3.1.2 They feared being made redundant.
A3.1.3 They were uncomfortable about changing the way they worked.
Q3.2 Why wasn’t there a system in place to handle job requests? A3.2 The company grew at an exponential rate that there was no time to document anything.
Q4.1 Why were staff not explained the full benefits of the system?
A4.1 There was a lack of communication.
Q4.2 Why did they fear being made redundant?
A4.2 They thought the computer system was designed to replace them.
Q4.3 Why were they uncomfortable about changing the way they worked?
A4.3.1 They had always been doing it this way.
A4.3.2 The positive aspects of the change were not communicated.
Q4.4 Why did the company grow at an exponential rate that there was no time to document anything?
A4.4 There was insufficient planning.
Q5.1 Why was there was a lack of communication?
A5.1 We assumed that the benefits were obvious.
Q5.2 Why did they think the computer system was designed to replace them?
A5.2 Because we didn't tell them how it would help make their jobs easier.
Q5.3 Why had they always been doing it this way?
A5.3 All the work was done manually prior.
Q5.4 Why were the positive aspects of the change were not communicated?
A5.4 We assumed that the benefits were obvious.
Q5.5 Why was there was insufficient planning?
A5.5 Top management were too busy fire fighting and dealing with operational work, rather than developing a strategy.
