Why Did the Orders Miss Dispatch?
Build an evidence-labelled causal chain and recognise when the problem branches.
14 minutes
Scenario
Thirty-two priority orders missed the 17:00 dispatch cut-off at one distribution centre. The supervisor says the picker was too slow.
- Your role
- Operations team lead
- Method
- 5 Whys
Evidence pack
Order release
Affected orders were released to picking at 16:42 instead of the normal 15:30.
System
A pricing hold delayed release until a manual approval.
Approval
The approver queue had no priority-order alert.
Picking
Picker cycle time was within the normal range.
Branch
Six orders also had missing stock in the assigned location.
Constraints
- Every link must be labelled verified, plausible, contradicted or unknown.
- The chain may branch.
- Do not stop at a person.
Case steps
Work through each prompt using the evidence pack. Answers and rubric weights stay protected in the interactive flow.
Write a neutral problem statement.
Build a causal chain from missed dispatch to the missing priority alert. Label every link.
Evaluate the 'picker was too slow' explanation and cite the evidence status.
Explain how the missing-stock evidence changes the analysis and identify the next method or test.