I suspect that this is because a human propensity exists to allocate and apportion blame, particularly in cases where the interactions involved in the immediately prior actions are unclear.

I have actually not even once encountered this 5 Why's method.

I neither heard of it before.

But I founded my company in 1996, starting out with almost two hundred years of experience surrounding my incredulous and lucky younger self, including several PhDs and former Fortune 500 board members.

I will hazard that this 5whys technique is fundamentally flawed and easily susceptible to manipulation for procuring a scapegoat.

I only hope that explains why I have never encountered this before. I hope moreso I can feel a little like something​was going on in the right way, in my business, to filter and reject what I think is, and definitely comes across as bogus to me.