Product Management playbook/Module 6 · Evidence

Day 56 / 100 · Evidence · Root cause analysis

Keep asking why.

The first explanation is usually a symptom. Keep asking why until you reach something the team can fix for good.

Five Whys · Fictional Example

The Problem

New customers are leaving within 60 days.

Why?

Their number porting took weeks, not days.

Why?

Every port request is checked by hand.

Why?

There's no automated validation of port forms.

Root Cause

Nobody owns the porting experience end to end.

The fix: give porting an owner and a target, and automate the checks. Faster ports follow.

Source: Lean Enterprise Institute ↗

Fix the system, not the symptom.