What Is a Fish Bone Diagram?

The fishbone diagram, also known as the cause-and-effect diagram or the Ishikawa diagram, identifies the many possible different causes of an outcome.

  1. Uses

    • Groups use this method of brainstorming to both troubleshoot existing problems and prepare for causes of future problems. It can also help stimulate new thoughts when a group is stuck in a cycle of unproductive thought.

    First Steps

    • The first step in creating a fishbone diagram is to decide what outcome to investigate. Write the outcome on the far right of your paper, and draw a line from the outcome to the far left of your paper.

    Categories

    • The American Society for Quality suggests that teams attempting to come up with categories ask the question "Why does this (outcome) happen?" Categories should be broad areas of potential causes, such as "machinery" or "policies." Draw lines coming off the "spine" of the diagram and label them with categories.

    Filling in Categories

    • Once you have general cause categories, you can start to fill them it. Write ideas on lines branching off from your categories, letting the causes get more specific with each branch.

    Final Product

    • Your final product should loosely resemble a fish skeleton. This resemblance is the root of the diagram's common name, "the fishbone diagram."

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