Steal This Idea: The Five Whys

Given at Customers FTW! in Boston MA on May 12, 2015

Transcript

1. steal this idea
   the five whys
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   Hello
   

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2. who is this dude?
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   Automattic / WordPress.com
   hospitality = data + growth
   - intro self, a8c
   
   - “here’s really all you need to know about me.”
   
   - A: olark slack emoji
   

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3. who is this dude?
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   Automattic / WordPress.com
   hospitality = data + growth
   - intro self, a8c
   
   - “here’s really all you need to know about me.”
   
   - A: olark slack emoji
   

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4. let’s talk about lean
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   - “the term ‘lean’ gets thrown around a lot”
   
   - What does it mean to you? Anybody?
   
   - Chat on this for a second
   
   - Lean as we know it starts, arguably, with the TPS.
   

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5. tons of lessons from toyota
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   for today we’ll just look at one
   - talk about TPS briefly
   
   - reduce waste, tons and tons to learn, still
   

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6. the five whys
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   Toyota
   Six Sigma
   Lean Startup
   Gamestorming
   - this concept shows up in a lot of places
   
   - since so many folks have found value in it, let’s steal it!
   

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7. root cause analysis
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   - Explain big idea of how it works - identify a shortfall or defect, and ask why five times
   
   - At the core, we can think of the Five Whys as a way to seek the root cause of a problem or defect
   
   - there are lots of ways to seek a root cause, this is only one
   

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8. act like a child
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   - it essentially lets you act like a child
   
   - which is awesome
   
   - let’s talk about an example
   

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9. seven stars
   @saouderkirk // s12k.com
   - worked here for a few years when i lived in PVD - if you find yourself in PVD you should go
   
   - huge issue @ 7S was the line - we’ve all been in a cafe with a crazy line right?
   
   - let’s walk through five whys for this problem
   

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10. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    We struggle with long lines on busy days.
    Why?
    Each customer tends to take quite a long time to get their
    order.
    Why?
    Because we have a single line for coffee, pastry and bread.
    Why?
    Because we have a single employee stay with each
    customer through each area, in order.
    Why?
    Because that is the way they were trained.
    Why?
    Because we haven’t revisited our training program.
    Root cause: Old Training in a New Context
    

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11. we can see how this applies right?
    @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    - let’s see a software dev example
    

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12. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    Root cause: It Depends
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

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13. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

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14. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

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15. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

    View Slide

16. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    Because our mobile devs had a ton of new code.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

    View Slide

17. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    Because our mobile devs had a ton of new code.
    Why?
    Because we added too many features.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

    View Slide

18. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because we are bad at saying no.
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    Because our mobile devs had a ton of new code.
    Why?
    Because we added too many features.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

    View Slide

19. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    Because our mobile devs had a ton of new code.
    Why?
    Because we added too many features.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

    View Slide

20. @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    The latest release is getting terrible app store ratings.
    Why?
    Root cause: It Depends
    Because we have a new product manager.
    Because our customers can’t log in.
    Why?
    Because the login flow was not worked on this release.
    Why?
    Because our mobile devs had a ton of new code.
    Why?
    Because we added too many features.
    Why?
    - A2: move in saying no - the cause may be a broad cultural or managerial one
    
    - A3: move out saying no
    
    - A4: move in new PM - it’s not only OK, but rewarding to move through the 5W exercise a few times, to explore and answer in different ways.
    

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21. great tool for the toolbox
    @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    - Feature (not bug) of 5W is that you get out what you put in
    
    - If you do it a few times, noodling with answers and pursuing other paths, may strike gold
    
    - it is not the end-all, but it is a great exercise to do solo or with a group.
    
    - one tool for your toolbox
    

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22. further reading
    @saouderkirk // s12k.com
    

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