In the Lean Startup, Eric Ries shares about a tactic that startups can use to solve internal problems and build an adaptive company. It’s called the Five Whys. Here’s Eric:

“The system takes its name from the investigative method of asking the question “Why?” five times to understand what has happened (the root cause). If you’ve ever had to answer a precocious child who wants to know “Why is the sky blue?” and keeps asking “Why?” after each answer, you’re familiar with it. This technique was developed as a systemic problem-solving tool by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System. I have adapted it for use in the Lean Startup model with a few changes designed specifically for startups. At the root of every seemingly technical problem is a human problem. Five Whys provides an opportunity to discover what that human problem might be.”

Eric Ries goes on to examine Five Whys as it’s used to diagnose an app update glitch all the way down to its root cause: a deficiency in training new engineers due to an issue with one manager in particular. You can learn all about Five Whys in Chapter 11 of The Lean Startup.

Source: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

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