five-whys

name	five-whys
description	Root-cause analysis preset — drill from a surface symptom to deeper causes, assumptions, or principles by asking "why" ~5 times. A convenience preset of the more general n-whys skill (which takes an explicit depth n).
compatibility	Created for Zo Computer
metadata	{"author":"rob.zo.computer"}

Five Whys

Use this skill when a question, problem, observation, bug, decision, emotional reaction, disagreement, or confusing situation would benefit from drilling down through layers of causality.

Relationship to n-whys: this is a preset of n-whys with a default depth of ~5 and a root-cause orientation. If the user wants a specific depth, or a deliberately deep chain, use n-whys n=<k> q=<question> instead.

Purpose

The Five Whys method repeatedly asks "why?" to move from the obvious surface explanation toward deeper causes. The goal is not always exactly five steps; stop when the next "why" becomes speculative, circular, or no longer useful.

The chain need not be strictly causal. Depending on the topic it can be:

• causal — event chains, mechanisms, failures
• conceptual — deeper premises behind a claim
• incentive-based — who benefits, what pressures exist
• philosophical — what values or assumptions ground the position

Canonical questions

• Why did the deployment fail?
• Why are users dropping off after signup?
• Why does this team keep missing commitments?
• Why does this product feel harder to explain than it should?
• Why do I keep avoiding this task?

Procedure

1. State the surface issue in one sentence.
2. Ask "why did this happen / why does this seem true / why does this matter?"
3. Answer with the most concrete, testable explanation available.
4. Repeat the why-question on the answer.
5. Continue until you reach one or more root causes, structural causes, hidden assumptions, or irreducible tradeoffs.
6. Separate facts from guesses.
7. End with practical implications: what to check, change, test, or decide next.

Output format

Use this concise structure unless the user asks otherwise:

## Surface issue
...

## Five Whys
1. Why? ...
   - Because ...
2. Why? ...
   - Because ...
3. Why? ...
   - Because ...
4. Why? ...
   - Because ...
5. Why? ...
   - Because ...

## Likely root cause / deeper principle
...

## What to do next
- ...

Guardrails

• Do not force exactly five whys if fewer or more are useful.
• Do not pretend uncertain causal links are known; label them as hypotheses.
• For human or organizational topics, avoid blame. Look for systems, incentives, constraints, and feedback loops.
• For philosophical or conceptual topics, treat each "why" as a move toward a deeper premise, not necessarily a literal cause.