Free 5 whys template
A 5 whys template
that keeps every branch.
Start with the problem. Ask why. Give every answer its own branch, so a cause with two reasons gets two.
Use it free — no card, no trial →
- Free forever — not a trial
- Up to 10 maps, kept for good
- Every export included
Free has no end date — upgrade only if you outgrow 10 maps. It opens with the problem, the whys, the root cause and the fixes laid out.
Ask why, branch by branch. Each answer is a topic you can question again. Two causes get two branches.
Mark what you checked. Each cause has an evidence field and a status. The map colours itself by it.
Fix it and keep it. The fix sits next to its cause, with an owner. Export it as a PDF or slides.
How to run a 5 whys, step by step
The 5 whys comes from Toyota. You state a problem and ask why it happened. Then you ask why again of that answer. You stop at a cause that, once fixed, keeps the problem away. Five is a guide, not a rule.
- Write the problem as a fact. Say what happened, where and when. "12% of March orders shipped late" works. "Shipping is bad" does not.
- Ask why it happened. Write each answer as a branch. Use what you can check: data, the process, a log. Not a person to blame.
- Ask why again. Go down each branch. Stop when the next answer is outside your control. That is often three to five levels.
- Follow every real cause. Some answers have two causes. Give each its own branch. A table can't do this. A map can.
- Check the chain backwards. Read it from the bottom up and say "therefore" between levels. If it doesn't hold, fix the branch. Mark each cause confirmed or ruled out.
- Decide the fix. For each root cause, write the fix, an owner and a date. Check again in a few weeks.
Worked example: late deliveries
A small online shop sees late deliveries jump in March. The problem sits in the centre. Each why hangs off the answer it questions. This is the map shown above.
- ❓ Why? Orders waited two days to be packedVerified: Confirmed · Evidence: Order log, 1–31 March
- ❓ Why? Packing stock ran out twiceVerified: Confirmed
- ❓ Why? Stock is reordered by handVerified: Confirmed · Evidence: No reorder level in the stock sheet
- ❓ Why? A packer was off sickVerified: Ruled out · Evidence: Delays started before the absence
- ❓ Why? Packing stock ran out twiceVerified: Confirmed
- 🌱 Root cause: no reorder point for packing stockVerified: Confirmed
- 🛠️ Countermeasures
- Set a reorder level and an alertOwner: Dana
- Review late orders weekly for a monthOwner: Sam
Look at the ruled-out branch. It stays on the map with its evidence. Nobody opens it again at the next meeting.
Let ChatGPT or Claude draft it
Connect Atlas Red to ChatGPT or Claude once. It is free. Then ask:
Make a 5 whys map in Atlas Red for this problem: [what happened]. Use the 5 whys template. Ask why at least three levels deep. Give each cause its own branch.
You get the same template, filled in, in your own account. Fix what it got wrong by hand. Or ask for another round.
Questions people ask
What is the 5 whys technique?
A way to find the root cause of a problem. You ask "why?" and each answer becomes the next question. You stop at a cause that, once fixed, keeps the problem away. Taiichi Ohno made it part of the Toyota Production System. Lean and Six Sigma teams use it, and so do incident reviews.
Do you have to ask why exactly five times?
No. Five is a guide. Stop when the next answer is outside your control. Stop when fixing the cause you have would clearly end the problem. Simple problems take three whys. Tangled ones take more.
5 whys or fishbone diagram: which should I use?
Start with a fishbone diagram when you don't know where to look. It lists possible causes under people, methods, machines, materials, measurements and environment. Then run a 5 whys on the two or three likeliest causes.
Is this 5 whys template free?
Yes. It comes with Atlas Red's Free edition. You get up to 10 maps, kept with no end date, and every export. No credit card. Pro is one payment of $99 for unlimited maps.
Can I export the 5 whys to PDF or Word?
PDF, yes, on every edition. So are PNG, JPEG, SVG, slides and a web page. There is no Word file. Export Markdown instead and paste it into Word or Google Docs. Your fields come along as "Label: value" lines.
Can ChatGPT or Claude do a 5 whys for me?
They can draft one. Connect Atlas Red to ChatGPT or Claude and ask for a 5 whys map of your problem. It builds the map from this template in your account. You still check each why against the facts. The assistant only knows what you told it.
What makes a good 5 whys answer?
A fact about the process that you can check. "Stock is reordered by hand" leads to a fix. "Sam forgot" leads nowhere. If an answer is a guess, mark it suspected. Go and look before you build on it.