5W2H Investigation Form

Report #:

Date:

Shift:

Investigator:

Area / Department:

Problem Title:

WHO People involved in the problem

Who is affected by this problem?

Who discovered it?

Who can help solve it? (names / roles)

WHAT Defining the problem clearly

What exactly is wrong?

What should be happening instead?

What are the visible symptoms?

WHEN Timing and frequency — look for patterns

When did the problem start?

When does it occur? (time / shift / frequency)

When does it NOT occur? (equally important)

WHERE Location narrows the search

Where in the facility / process does it occur?

Where was it first discovered?

Where does it NOT occur?

WHY Start building the root cause chain

Why is this a problem? (business impact)

Why does it appear to be happening? (initial theory)

HOW Sequence of events and discovery

How did the problem happen? (sequence of events)

How was it discovered?

How many units / people / customers affected?

How much time lost per occurrence?

Estimated cost per occurrence:

Estimated monthly / annual cost:

Patterns Noticed: (Look at When + Where — patterns point to root causes)

Next Step — Tool to Use:

☐ 5 Whys ☐ Fishbone Diagram ☐ Pareto Chart ☐ Other:

5W2H Problem Investigation Form