Originally
developed by Kaoru Ishikawa to visualize the causes of a specific event, the
Cause and Effect
Diagram has come to be known by several names: Cause and
Effect, Fishbone, or Ishikawa diagram.
It is one of the seven basic Quality
control tools, and has become commonly used to determine components needed for a
desired outcome.
The
main issue is written in a box that is typically in the center of the right
edge of the page. A line called the "spine" or "backbone"
extends to the left starting from the edge of the main box. Branches angle off
of the spine, each representing a cause or effect of the main issue. Each of
these branches may contain additional branches.
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A Cause and Effect Diagram is used to
examine why something happened or might happen by breaking up the issue into
smaller categories. It can also be helpful to show relationships between
contributing factors.
Best Practices:
Identify the process or event: Define the
process or issue to be examined.
Draw the backbone: Once the topic is
identified, draw a straight, horizontal line (this is called the spine or
backbone) on the page, and on the right side, draw a rectangle at the end.
Write a brief description of the topic in the rectangle.
Add branches: Draw a line starting on the
backbone and extend it away from the backbone at an angle away from the main
process rectangle. Either perpendicular or parallel to the spine, write a
description of a cause or effect at the end of the branch. Details related to
the cause or effect may branch off from the branch touching the spine. Continue
to add branches and a cause or effect until all factors have been documented.
The end result should resemble a fish skeleton.
Analyze: Once the diagram has been
completed, analyze the information as it has been organized in order to come to
a solution.
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