5x5Whys - useful in root cause analysis (RCA)

This set of Southbeach | MyCreativity rules are an expansion of the simple 5Whys. A screen shot of Southbeach Modeller showing this RCA tool working is available here for an example model of a plane crash in Colombia.

#5x5whys

//matching on agents
* "What proof do I have that this cause exists? (Is {this} concrete? Is {this} measurable?)"
* "What proof do I have that the cause: {this} could lead to the stated effect? (Am I merely asserting causation?)"
* "What proof do I have that this cause actually contributed to the system problem I am looking at? (Even given that it exists and could lead to this problem, how do I know {this} wasn't actually something else?)"
* "Is anything else needed, along with this cause, for the stated effect to occur? (Is {this} self-sufficient? Is something needed to help {this} along?)"
* "Can anything else, besides this cause, lead to the stated effect? (Are there alternative explanations to {this} that fit better? What other risks are there?)"

//matching on effects
*(,) "What proof do I have that this effect/process exists? (Is {this} concrete? Is the effect measurable?)"
*(,) "What proof do I have that this effect: {this} could lead to the stated outcome? (Am I merely asserting causation?)"
*(,) "What proof do I have that this effect actually contributed to the system problem I am looking at? (Even given that it exists and could lead to this problem, how do I know {this} wasn't actually something else?)"
*(,) "Is anything else needed, along with this effect, for the stated effect to occur? (Is {this} self-sufficient? Is something needed to help {this} along?)"
*(,) "Can anything else, besides this effect, lead to the stated effect? (Are there alternative explanations to {this} that fit better? What other risks are there?)"