What is the 5W1H method?

5W1H is a way to describe a problem or a task completely by answering six questions: what, where, when, who, why and how. In manufacturing it turns a vague report into a specific problem statement before root cause analysis, and it writes actions so that each has an owner, a date and a method.

How do you use 5W and 1H example?

Take the form to the line and answer each question with a fact. For example: 500 ml bottles are leaking at the cap (what), on Line 3 and mostly from capping head 7 (where), since the changeover on Monday night (when), found by the case packer (who), against a specification of zero leakers (why), 38 in 4,800 checked (how). Then write the answers as one sentence.

What is the 5Ws framework?

It is the same checklist without the how: what, where, when, who and why. Adding how gives 5W1H. Adding a second H, how much or how many, gives 5W2H, which keeps the count or the cost from being forgotten.

What is the difference between 5W1H and 5 Whys?

5W1H describes a problem with six different questions. 5 Whys finds the cause by asking why repeatedly. You use 5W1H first to agree what the problem is, then 5 Whys to find out why it happened. The single Why in 5W1H asks why the problem matters, not what caused it.

What is a 5W1H analysis used for in manufacturing?

It is used at the start of problem solving to define the problem, in shift handovers and incident reports so that nothing is left out, and at the end of an investigation to write the corrective actions. It is not a root cause tool by itself: it feeds one.

Practical guide · Root cause analysis and problem solving

5W1H: the six questions, a worked shop-floor example, and 5W1H vs 5 Whys

Short answer

5W1H is a set of six questions: what, where, when, who, why and how. Answer all six about a problem and you have a description that someone who was not there can act on. It does not find the cause. It makes sure everyone is looking for the cause of the same thing.

The five Ws are what, where, when, who and why. The H is how. Plants use the six questions in two places. At the start of an investigation they turn a vague report such as "leaks on Line 3" into one sentence with a part, a place, a time and a count. At the end they turn a vague action such as "fix the capper" into a task with an owner, a date and a method. 5W1H is different from 5 Whys: 5W1H describes the problem, and 5 Whys then asks why it happened. 5W2H adds a seventh question, how much.

Last reviewed: November 9, 2026

What are the 5W and 1H?

The 5W and 1H are six questions: what, where, when, who, why and how. Answered about a problem, they give a description that someone who was not there can act on. The order varies by source. This one suits a production problem because it starts with the thing you can hold in your hand.

The six 5W1H questions

WhatThe part, the product and the defect or failure, in the words of the specification.
WhereThe line, the machine, the station or head, and the place on the part.
WhenThe date, the shift and the time it started, and what changed just before.
WhoWho found it and who is affected by it. A role or a team, never a culprit.
WhyWhy it matters: the standard it breaks and what it costs if it continues.
HowHow it was found and how many, as a count out of a total.

Five questions start with W and one with H. Why here means why it matters, not why it happened.

Rudyard Kipling put them in a verse in Just So Stories in 1902: "I Keep six honest serving-men: (They taught me all I knew)". The next two lines name them as What, Where, When, How, Why and Who. That is why 5W1H is sometimes called the Kipling method.

It is also written 5W 1H or 5W+1H. Same six questions.

The two jobs 5W1H does in a plant

A team uses 5W1H twice in the same investigation, and the six questions mean slightly different things each time. The first pass describes the problem before anyone looks for a cause. The second pass, after the cause is known, writes the action so that nothing is left open.

The six questions when describing a problem and when planning an action

Describing a problem
What
What is wrong, on which part?
Where
Where is it seen, and where on the part?
When
When did it start, and is there a pattern by shift or lot?
Who
Who found it and who is affected?
Why
Why does it matter? Which standard is broken?
How
How was it found, and how many?
Planning an action
What
What exactly will be done?
Where
Where will it be done: which line, machine or document?
When
When is it due?
Who
Who owns it? One name.
Why
Why this action? Which cause does it remove?
How
How will it be done, and how will we know it worked?

The same six words do two jobs. On the left they pin a problem down. On the right they turn a decision into an action someone owns.

The Why box causes the most trouble. In a problem description it does not mean why did this happen. A cause written here is a guess made before the facts are in. Use the box for why the problem deserves attention: the specification it breaks, the customer it reaches, the cost per shift.

How to do a 5W1H analysis in five steps

Using 5W1H in five steps

1
Go to where it happened
2
Answer the six questions with facts
3
Put a number in the How box
4
Write the answers as one sentence
5
Hand it to the cause-finding tool

The order matters less than step 1: answer the questions where the problem is, with the part in your hand.

1
Go to where it happened
Take the form to the line. Look at the failed parts and talk to the person who found them.
2
Answer the six questions with facts
Write what you saw and counted. Where you do not know, write "not known yet" and go and find out.
3
Put a number in the How box
Count the bad parts and the total checked. Split the count by machine, head, shift or lot if you can. The split often points to where to look.
4
Write the answers as one sentence
Join the six answers into a problem statement that someone outside the area understands without a follow-up question.
5
Hand it to the cause-finding tool
The sentence is the starting point for a 5 Whys or a fishbone diagram. Once the cause is confirmed, run the six questions again to write each action.

The 5W1H template asks each question with prompts, adds the count and builds the problem statement.

A worked 5W1H example from a filling line

Illustrative example. The shift handover note on Tuesday morning says: "Leaks on Line 3 again. Maintenance to look at the capper." It names no bottle size, no count and no start time, and it already assumes a cause. The day shift lead takes a 5W1H form to the line.

Illustrative: the Line 3 leak described with 5W1H

Example numbers

What
Answer from the line
500 ml bottles leaking at the cap when laid on their side. The cap is on but not fully tightened.
Where
Answer from the line
Line 3, rotary capper. Of the 38 leakers, 31 came from capping head 7. The other 7 were spread over the other 11 heads.
When
Answer from the line
First seen at 22:40 on Monday, about 40 minutes after the changeover from 1 litre to 500 ml. Not seen on the day shift before the changeover.
Who
Answer from the line
Found by the case packer during the side-lay check. Affects the night and day shift crews and one customer order due Thursday.
Why
Answer from the line
The specification allows no leaking bottles. Every leaker found means the pallet is held and checked by hand.
How
Answer from the line
Found by the hourly side-lay check. 38 leakers in 4,800 bottles checked, which is 0.8 percent.

Six answers, each a fact someone saw or counted at the line. None of them names a cause.

Leak rate by capping head (leakers per 100 bottles checked)

Example numbers

Head 7
31 leakers in 400 bottles
7.75%
The other 11 heads together
7 leakers in 4,400 bottles
0.16%

The Where answer, counted. 7.75 divided by 0.16 is about 48, so head 7 leaks at nearly fifty times the rate of the other heads.

The count in the Where box is what changes the investigation. The capper has 12 heads, so each one closed 4,800 / 12 = 400 of the bottles checked. Head 7 produced 31 leakers in 400, which is 7.75 percent. The other 11 heads produced 38 minus 31, which is 7 leakers in 4,400 bottles, or 0.16 percent. One head is leaking at nearly fifty times the rate of the rest.

Now the six answers can be written as one sentence: "Since 22:40 on Monday, after the changeover to 500 ml, Line 3 has produced 38 leaking bottles in 4,800 checked (0.8 percent), 31 of them from capping head 7, against a specification of zero." Nobody has named a cause yet, but the search has shrunk from a whole line to one head and one changeover.

The handover note and the 5W1H problem statement

Example numbers

The handover note

Leaks on Line 3 again. Maintenance to look at the capper.

No part, no count, no start time, and a cause assumed.

The same problem after 5W1H

WhenSince 22:40 on Monday, after the changeover to 500 ml
WhereLine 3, 31 of the 38 from capping head 7
What500 ml bottles leaking at the cap
How38 in 4,800 checked, 0.8 percent
WhyThe specification is zero leakers
WhoFound by the case packer at the side-lay check

Same problem, same shift. The note on the left sends maintenance to a whole capper. The statement on the right sends them to one head and one changeover.

That sentence is where a 5 Whys starts. Suppose the chain finds that the chuck on head 7 was not swapped because the changeover sheet lists eleven chucks. The team then uses the six questions again for the action.

Illustrative: the action for head 7 written with 5W1H

Example numbers

What
The action
Fit the 500 ml chuck to head 7 and correct the changeover sheet to list all 12 chucks.
Where
The action
Line 3 capper, and the changeover sheet held at the line.
When
The action
Chuck today before the next run. Sheet reissued by Friday.
Who
The action
The Line 3 maintenance technician for the chuck. The process engineer for the sheet.
Why
The action
A 1 litre chuck on head 7 cannot tighten a 500 ml cap fully. The sheet let it be missed.
How
The action
Swap and torque-test head 7. Confirm with the side-lay check: no leakers from head 7 over the next three shifts.

The How box holds the check that will show the action worked: no leakers from head 7 over the next three shifts.

5W1H vs 5 Whys: what is the difference?

The names are close and the tools are not. 5W1H asks six different questions once each and goes wide. 5 Whys asks one question several times and goes deep. They are used in that order.

5W1H goes wide, then 5 Whys goes deep

5W1H: six questions, asked once each

What
Where
When
Who
Why
How

One problem statement, with a count

5 Whys: one question, asked of each answer

Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why? Root cause

The two tools run in sequence. 5W1H asks six different questions once and ends in a problem statement. 5 Whys takes that statement and asks one question until the cause is something you can change.

5W1H and 5 Whys side by side

5W1H
What it is for
Describing the problem so everyone means the same thing
How it asks
Six different questions, once each
What you end with
A problem statement with a count
When you use it
First, before any cause is discussed, and again to write the actions
Typical mistake
Writing a guessed cause in the Why box
5 Whys
What it is for
Finding the cause of the problem described
How it asks
One question, why, asked of each answer in turn
What you end with
A chain from the symptom to a root cause
When you use it
Second, once the problem statement is agreed
Typical mistake
Starting from a vague problem, so the chain wanders

If the team cannot yet say what, where, when and how many, it is too early for 5 Whys.

The Why in 5W1H asks why the problem matters. The whys in 5 Whys are a chain about why it happened. With several possible causes, a fishbone diagram comes next and 5 Whys third. The root cause analysis guide shows the sequence.

Which method after 5W1H?

Which method after 5W1H

Situation
Nobody agrees what the problem is
Use
5W1H
Fill the six boxes at the line
Situation
The problem is clear and one cause chain looks likely
Use
5 Whys
Check each answer at the machine
Situation
Several causes are possible
Use
Fishbone
List candidates, then test each
Situation
It comes and goes, or hits some lots only
Use
Is/is not sheet
Compare where it is with where it is not

5W1H comes first. The other three answer different questions, so pick by the situation, not by habit.

What is 5W2H?

5W2H is 5W1H with a second H: how much, or how many. It exists because the plain How box gets used for method (how was it found, how will it be fixed) and the number gets forgotten. Giving the number its own box stops that.

In a problem description, how many is the size of the problem: 38 leakers in 4,800 bottles, or 6 hours of downtime in a week.
In an action plan, how much is the cost: parts, labour hours and any lost production while the work is done.

A six-box form can do the same job if the How box always holds a count out of a total, as in the example above. Use the seven-box version when actions need a cost approved before they start.

Common 5W1H mistakes

Five 5W1H mistakes and what to do about each

Mistake
Who becomes who is to blame
What goes wrong: People stop reporting problems, and the next form comes back with less in it.
Do this instead
Write who found it and who is affected. Use roles.
Mistake
A cause in the Why box
What goes wrong: The team anchors on the first theory and the investigation only looks for proof of it.
Do this instead
Write why it matters. Keep causes for the 5 Whys or the fishbone.
Mistake
No numbers
What goes wrong: "Some leaks" cannot be compared with next week, so nobody can tell whether the fix worked.
Do this instead
Write a count out of a total in the How box, and split it if you can.
Mistake
Filled in at a desk
What goes wrong: The answers are what people remember, and memory drops the detail that matters.
Do this instead
Fill it in at the line with the failed parts in front of you.
Mistake
Six boxes and no sentence
What goes wrong: Each reader joins the answers up differently.
Do this instead
Finish with one sentence and read it to someone from another area.

Four of the five fixes come to the same thing: write what was seen and counted, not what is believed.

When a problem comes and goes, an is/is not sheet asks the same questions twice, once for where the problem is and once for where it could be but is not. The cause usually sits in the difference.

5W1H templates and software

The 5W1H template is a free download in Excel and PDF. Carry the problem statement into the 5 Whys template or the free 5 Whys canvas. Unsure which tool the problem needs? The lean method navigator asks six questions and suggests one.

In LeanSuite, AI Root Cause Analysis starts the same way a good 5W1H does: you describe the problem, it asks questions about it, and it returns likely root causes with an action plan. Lean Studio has boards for the 5 Whys, fishbone, A3 and 8D that follow.

Go deeper

This page is the short version. These guides cover each part in full.

All our articles on this subject are in the root cause analysis and problem solving topic.

Free templates and tools

Key terms

Lean glossary

Doing this in LeanSuite

See it on your own lines

Bring the problem you are working on to a 45-minute demo. Or look around with sample data first, or pilot LeanSuite on your own lines for 90 days, with the setup done by our team.

Book a 45-minute demo Click through the interactive demo Start a 90-day pilot

FAQ

Questions about 5W1H

5W1H is a way to describe a problem or a task completely by answering six questions: what, where, when, who, why and how. In manufacturing it turns a vague report into a specific problem statement before root cause analysis, and it writes actions so that each has an owner, a date and a method.
The five Ws are what, where, when, who and why. The H is how. For a shop-floor problem: what is wrong, where it is seen, when it started, who found it and who is affected, why it matters, and how it was found and how many.
Take the form to the line and answer each question with a fact. For example: 500 ml bottles are leaking at the cap (what), on Line 3 and mostly from capping head 7 (where), since the changeover on Monday night (when), found by the case packer (who), against a specification of zero leakers (why), 38 in 4,800 checked (how). Then write the answers as one sentence.
It is the same checklist without the how: what, where, when, who and why. Adding how gives 5W1H. Adding a second H, how much or how many, gives 5W2H, which keeps the count or the cost from being forgotten.
5W1H describes a problem with six different questions. 5 Whys finds the cause by asking why repeatedly. You use 5W1H first to agree what the problem is, then 5 Whys to find out why it happened. The single Why in 5W1H asks why the problem matters, not what caused it.
It is used at the start of problem solving to define the problem, in shift handovers and incident reports so that nothing is left out, and at the end of an investigation to write the corrective actions. It is not a root cause tool by itself: it feeds one.

More method guides

Or browse the topics, the full library and the lean glossary.

Rather see it on your own problem?

Bring the problem you are stuck on, and we will show you on a call how LeanSuite handles it.

Schedule Demo

Pass it on

We want LeanSuite to be the best place on the internet for lean help. If this was useful, send it to someone on your team or in your network who needs it.

5W1H: the six questions, a worked shop-floor example, and 5W1H vs 5 Whys

What are the 5W and 1H?

The two jobs 5W1H does in a plant

How to do a 5W1H analysis in five steps

Go to where it happened

Answer the six questions with facts

Put a number in the How box

Write the answers as one sentence

Hand it to the cause-finding tool

A worked 5W1H example from a filling line

5W1H vs 5 Whys: what is the difference?

Which method after 5W1H?

What is 5W2H?

Common 5W1H mistakes

5W1H templates and software

Go deeper

Free templates and tools

Doing this in LeanSuite

AI Root Cause Analysis

Lean Studio

Kaizen & Projects

See it on your own lines

What is the 5W1H method?

What are the 5W and 1H?

How do you use 5W and 1H example?

What is the 5Ws framework?

What is the difference between 5W1H and 5 Whys?

What is a 5W1H analysis used for in manufacturing?

Related guides and tools

More method guides