ozten/skills
Overview
This skill implements the Five Whys root-cause analysis method for self-improvement and team retrospectives. It guides you to iteratively ask “Why?” until you identify a systemic, actionable cause and a verifiable change. The focus is blameless, specific, and preventive improvements rather than assigning fault.
How this skill works
Start by stating a specific, factual problem. Iteratively ask “Why did this happen?” and follow each answer until you reach a systemic root cause that suggests a concrete change. When answers contain multiple factors, fork into separate branches and treat each branch as its own chain of whys with its own corrective action. Produce an output with a clear problem statement, branch analyses, root causes, and specific changes to implement.
When to use it
- After a failure, mistake, or suboptimal outcome
- During post-mortems or retrospectives
- When debugging repeated failures or recurring bugs
- To understand gaps in process, knowledge, or tooling
- When aiming to convert incidents into preventive changes
Best practices
- Write the problem statement as a specific, factual sentence with no blame
- Keep asking “Why?” until the answer points to a process, knowledge, or tooling gap
- Fork branches whenever an answer lists multiple factors; analyze each branch separately
- Turn vague answers into specific, verifiable actions (avoid “be more careful”)
- Prefer preventive changes that stop the class of problem, not only the single occurrence
Example use cases
- A deployment fails: analyze config, tests, and CI steps in separate branches
- A recurring bug slips into production: trace why tests or code reviews missed it
- A missed deadline: find systemic scheduling, estimate, or communication gaps
- A customer complaint: uncover process or documentation failures that enabled the issue
- Personal habit improvement: find root causes behind missed goals and make concrete habit changes
FAQ
There’s no fixed number. Keep asking until you reach a systemic, actionable cause—often three to five iterations, but stop when the identified root cause leads to a concrete change.
What if an answer blames a person?
Reframe blamelessly: ask what process, information, or tooling allowed the mistake and convert that into a preventive change.
When should I fork branches?
Fork whenever an answer contains multiple independent factors (look for “and”, “also”, or multiple clauses) so each factor gets its own chain and change.
10 skills
This skill guides you through root-cause thinking using iterative why questioning to uncover systemic changes and prevent repeats.
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