The Cause and Effect (a.k.a.

Fishbone) Diagram
The Fishbone diagram is also known as the Ishikawa diagram. It was invented by a Japanese quality control
statistician, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa. It is used to deepen a team's understanding of a problem or issue, usually at the
corresponding stage of the remodeling process. The process is called Fishbone Analysis because of the way in
which the information gathered is arranged visually like the skeleton of a fish.
When should a fishbone diagram be used?

Need to study a problem/issue to determine the root cause?

Want to study all the possible reasons why a process is beginning to have difficulties, problems, or
breakdowns?
Need to identify areas for data collection?
Want to study why a process is not performing properly or producing the desired results

Because of the function of the fishbone diagram, it may be referred to as a cause-and-effect diagram.
How to draw a fish bone diagram

Write down the problem on one side.

Draw a straight line (like the backbone of
a fish).
Draw stems at angles to the backbone line.
At the end of each of these stems, list the
categories.
For every category, think of several
primary causes for the problem.
For every primary cause, think of
supporting reasons (secondary causes).

The major categories typically utilized are:

Manufacturing / Industry:
The 4 Ms: Methods, Machines, Materials, Manpower
The 6 Ms: Methods, Machines, Materials, Manpower, Measurement, Mother Nature
The 9 Ms: Methods, Machines, Materials, Manpower, Measurement, Mother Nature,
Maintenance, Management, Marketing
Service / Office:
The 4 Ps: Place, Procedure, People, Policies
The 8 Ps: Place, Procedure, People, Policies, Price, Promotion, Process, Product
The 4 Ss: Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills
Any of these categories can be used individually or can be combined in any fashion.
The team should be encouraged to analyze and discuss each main bone of the fish in turn. For each cause
identified, continue to ask 'why does that happen?' and attach that information as another bone of the category
branch. This will help get you to the true drivers of a problem.

The fishbone diagram helps you explore all potential or real causes that result in a single defect or failure. Once
all inputs are established on the fishbone, the 5 Whys technique can be used to drill down to the root causes.
This technique helps teams to understand the scope and scale of a challenging situation. It captures and collates
all the different perspectives in the room that relate to the issue at hand. Fish bone diagrams together with 5
Why technique form an efficient problem analysis tool.
By repeatedly asking the question "Why" (five is a good rule of thumb), you can peel away the layers of
symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the ostensible reason for a problem will
lead you to another question. Although this technique is called "5 Whys," you may find that you will need to
ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the issue related to a problem.
How To Complete The 5 Whys
1. Write down the specific problem. Writing the issue helps you formalize the problem and describe it
completely. It also helps a team focus on the same problem.
2. Ask Why the problem happens and write the answer down below the problem.
3. If the answer you just provided doesn't identify the root cause of the problem that you wrote down in
step 1, ask Why again and write that answer down.
4. Loop back to step 3 until the team is in agreement that the problem's root cause is identified. Again, this
may take fewer or more times than five Whys.
5 Whys Examples
Problem Statement: You are on your way home from work and your car stops in the middle of the road.
1. Why did your car stop?
- Because it ran out of gas.
2. Why did it run out of gas?
- Because I didn't buy any gas on my way to work.
3. Why didn't you buy any gas this morning?
- Because I didn't have any money.
4. Why didn't you have any money?
- Because I lost it all last night in a poker game.
5. Why did you lose your money in last night's poker game?
- Because I'm not very good at "bluffing" when I don't have a good hand.