Written by Julia Sant’Anna
Reviewed by Marina Melo
5W2H is a form of structure that can optimize your time, facilitate management and bring a simple way to plan large or small actions, just by answering a few questions. It is a very clear line of reasoning that you can apply in any situation. For example, when preparing a system for your management or a team, and at the same time that can be working on small or large projects at all stages, #5W2H method helps to be more specific or more general.
There are several ways of organizing and managing that can facilitate the creation of new projects, our daily routine or just to facilitate brain storming during a task. The 5W2H presents the possibility of control and definition of all areas with 7 steps that bring an order to what is planned, and provides you with the possibility of control and quick and solid vision of all parties involved.
What, why, where, when, who, how and how much.
To put it into practice, let’s take an example:
I am creating a new team monitoring project and need to describe the steps of the project:
- What is it? What’s this all about?
Team management project in order to organize, increase the productivity and efficiency of the work performed by employees during the day.
- Why, why? Project justification:
A certain discrepancy was observed between one employee and another, and therefore there was a drop in productivity. In order to match, motivate and standardize routines, the project brings practical solutions on how to achieve the objectives.
- Where is it? Where it will be applied:
It will cover all teams or areas of the company that are needed.
- When, what’s the point? When will it be executed?
From 18/05 to 31/05, planning and development takes place. Starting June 1, all leaders will receive a project application model.
- Who, what? Who’s involved?
The application model will be developed by the Supervisors team and it is up to the managers of each team to apply it.
- How is that? What will this monitoring look like?
monitoring.docs model – the file itself that will deal with how this monitoring will be. here you can reapply the method if you wish.
- How much? How much is it going to cost?
Management software – R$1,000 per month/ Incentive training – R$4,000 and etc…
As we can see, we can join and think more easily in all the implementation steps and it is also possible to reapply the method several times within each topic. Thus objective and coherent problem terms, saving time applied and that can be developed in group or individually.
Start and Finish. There’s a whole journey in between. The trouble with most of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity.