Method guide · Progress through phases
Nine Whys
Start from the work people actually do and use repeated questions about its importance to refine a statement of purpose.
- People
- 2–30
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Explore through dialogue; Build working relationships.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A paired method for refining an activity's purpose into one sentence by asking why repeatedly. Use it at the start of an initiative when people have a list of tasks but no shared sense of what they are for, or when reviewing an established activity. Starting from the work people actually do and following why it matters up to 9 times leads to the core of its purpose rather than a justification added afterwards. The questioner asks without blame, and the respondent answers only within the scope they can answer. The result is each person's statement of purpose, the purposes that overlap across the group, and a first step. Do not use it on its own where repeated whys are likely to become demands to assign blame or where the aim is to justify a conclusion already decided.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Present the challenge0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Present. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Write down the work2–3 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Write. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Explore the whys3–13 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Explore. Participation: Pairs.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Refine one sentence13–17 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Refine. Participation: Groups of 4.
Individual record
- Record the purpose17–20 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Record. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, confirm with everyone that the starting point is the work they actually do and that the result will be a one-sentence statement of purpose.
- For 1 minute, each person writes on their card what they do day to day.
- For 10 minutes, work in pairs as questioner and respondent, asking why the work matters up to 9 times. Swap roles after 5 minutes.
- For 4 minutes, join two pairs, read one another's statements aloud, and rewrite each as a one-sentence purpose containing a verb.
- For 3 minutes, display each person's statement for the whole group and identify overlaps and a first step.
If something changes
If
Answers to why repeat the same wording 3 times in succession.
Then
The questioner changes the question to, ‘What would you lose if you could not do that?’
If
Answers to why are short replies given within 5 seconds twice in succession.
Then
The questioner asks about meaning rather than reasons, and the respondent answers again.
If
The statement still contains no verb when the signal to swap roles is given.
Then
Choose one verb from the preceding answer, put it into a provisional statement, and move on.
Preparation
Materials
- Chairs for each pair to sit facing one another, without a table
- One card per person, A6 or larger, for a statement of purpose
- One dark-coloured pen per person, medium tip or wider
- One display surface per venue for the statements
Room and setup
- Arrange chairs facing one another in pairs as the standard; only when the number is odd, make one group of 3
- Space at least 120 cm wide in front of the display for everyone to stand
Adjust for people and time
With 2 people, work as one pair and focus on the exchange of questions and answers. With 2–30 people, form pairs. Only when the number is odd, make one group of 3 and shorten the why exchanges to three turns of 3 minutes per person. Above 12 people, omit the joining of pairs into groups of 4 and move directly from pairs to the whole-group display. Post the statements on the wall and read silently to see where they overlap.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Ask without blame and let respondents answer only within the scope they can answer. Do not use repeated whys to pursue blame or justify a conclusion already decided.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The source specifies joining two pairs into a group of 4, but for 2 participants or a remaining pair/triad it does not explain how this phase is handled. This draft retains the stated phase and scaling instructions without inventing a grouping rule.
- The triad exchanges total 9 minutes within a 10-minute phase, and above 12 participants the 4-minute joining phase is omitted. The source does not allocate the remaining time or revise the total; no new timing rule is added.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026): Nine Whys — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/nine-whys
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes made
- CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
This site's notation diagrams and on-screen illustrations explain the facilitation process. They are not presented as official LS icons.
Method names are used to identify their sources. This is not an official LS website, and no endorsement or approval by the creators or rights holders is implied.
This notice does not grant blanket permission to reuse third-party photographs, logos or linked materials. Trademark, personality and other rights are addressed separately.
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To the extent permitted by law, the source materials and adaptations are provided without warranties. See the legal code for details.
Credits on the checked source page
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: 9 Whys.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.