← The Aegis Quality Resource Library
Five Whys Investigation Template
A why chain where every answer carries the evidence behind it, a stop test that tells you when you have reached a cause you can change, and a second chain for why the problem got out.
Free to use, change and copy inside your own organization. Editable Word, plus a fillable PDF you can complete on screen.
The problem it solves
Five whys done on a whiteboard tends to end wherever the most senior person in the room already thought it would. The answers are opinions, the chain jumps a step, it stops at 'operator error', and nobody asks why the problem was not caught. Nothing is written down except the last line. This template puts the evidence next to every answer, marks the answers that are not yet confirmed, tests the last answer before the team stops, reads the chain backward to find missing steps, and runs a separate chain for the escape, so the cause you act on is one you can show.
Who uses it, and when
Supervisors, manufacturing engineers and quality engineers who lead a single-chain investigation, on their own or with the people who do the work. When a problem has one visible chain of events (the Root Cause Analysis Decision Tree, AQL-B04, points here), after containment is in place and the problem statement is written; also to answer the root cause stage of a corrective action request.
Part of
CAPA Command Kit.
Clause references: 10.2.1 (with 8.7.1). Clause numbers only; the standards text is not reproduced, use your own licensed copy.
A management aid, not certification or a registrar audit. Using it does not by itself show conformity to AS9100D or any other standard.
Page 1 of the PDF. Every resource includes a worked example.
Related resources
guide · Word · fillable PDFRoot Cause Analysis Decision Tree
Which method fits the problem in front of you, how far to dig, and the tests that tell a root cause from a convenient stopping point.
Free download →
workbook · Excel · fillable PDFRoot Cause Analysis Worksheet
A structured investigation in one place: problem statement, is / is-not, every candidate cause tested against the data, a 5 Whys chain with evidence, the six root cause tests, the escape cause, and a conclusion that reads Not yet until the work is done.
Free download →
workbook · Excel · fillable PDFFishbone (Ishikawa) Analysis Worksheet
Run a cause-and-effect session that ends with tests, not opinions: candidate causes across the six categories, each with how it will be tested, by whom and by when, the result and its status, counted for you and laid out as a printable cause map.
Free download →
workbook · Excel · fillable PDF8D Problem-Solving Workbook
One tab per discipline, D0 to D8, rolled up to a status page: an is / is-not table, containment that is verified, root and escape causes confirmed with data, an effectiveness criterion set before the actions go in, and prevention carried to similar processes.
Free with your email →
template · Word · fillable PDFCorrective Action Request (CAR) Template
The request a quality team sends to a supplier or an internal department: the nonconformance stated so it can't be argued with, a due date for every stage, and a decision on each answer with the reason.
Free download →
worksheet · Excel · fillable PDFCAPA Effectiveness Verification Worksheet
Prove a corrective action worked, not just that it was done: separate containment, correction and corrective action, set a measurable criterion before the action goes in, and hold the record open until the evidence is in.
Free with your email →
These tools help you run the work by hand. When you want the whole picture of your quality system from the records you already keep, that's what the AeroAssure Audit Defense Pack and the IA9100 Transition Gap Analysis do.