Why Chain
Inspired by, and identical to, the “5 Whys”, with the ‘5’ dropped. The “5 Whys” helps people understand root cause analysis, where the ‘5’ acts as a set of training wheels to get people into the habit of continually asking “why” upon discovering an immediate answer to a problem.
By removing the number, the focus is shifted to the act that facilitates the process of discovery and analysis, rather than unwedging the habit of accepting an immediate cause as the root cause: Just keep why-ing until you find the root – could take a few extra minutes, could take years…
The idea of a “chain” mental model is also potentially useful in assessing health of a system, or in measuring its simplicity: When problems arise in a healthy system, why-chains may tend to be shorter.