5W1H Method
Updated 2026-08-05
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A structured questioning technique rooted in journalism and industrial quality management, later formalized in Toyota's problem-solving practice and taught as 5W1H. Its core proposition is that a complete account of any event or problem must specify six dimensions: what happened, why it happened, who was involved, when and where it occurred, and how it unfolded. The key constraint is that the six questions cover description rather than evaluation; they guarantee completeness of the frame, not the truth of the answers, and the method assumes the user will pursue gaps instead of accepting the first plausible reply.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Completeness check: sweep a report or plan through all six questions to expose assumptions you never verified. - Gap spotting: mark any dimension you cannot answer, since that blank is where the analysis is weakest. - Scope framing: use the six answers to define what a project brief must contain before work starts.
Anchor fast decisions
Analysis fails less often from wrong answers than from questions never asked. Because each of the six dimensions maps to a distinct causal role, subject, motive, time, place, and method, omitting one removes a whole class of information rather than a detail. Forcing all six into view makes the missing dimension visible, and a visible gap is actionable, whereas an unnoticed one silently distorts the conclusion.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E4%BD%95%E6%B3%95verified
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