The process itself doesn’t fully “solve” the problem it just gives you a list of likely suspects which is a great place to start. You’ll also need some process for prioritizing which “potential causes” will be investigated and in what order. The key components are: a list of potential sources of problems (usually 4 to 6 items), a well defined problem statement, space to write ideas where everyone in the group can see, and a follow up action list. It may take a lot more time to learn to be an effective facilitator but given a strong background in facilitation, this is an easy plug-and-play tool. The learning curve for a Fishbone Diagram itself is literally 5 minutes. If you’re not already applying this tool in your business, you’re already falling behind!ġ) Simplicity. What makes this tool so powerful though? And why is its use so widespread? Below I’ve outlined some of the ingredients in the secret sauce of the Fishbone Diagram’s power. It can be argued that this tool (along with other Root Cause Analysis tools such as 5-Why) is the cornerstone of any Lean Manufacturing implementation.

Effectively facilitated, a problem-solving session using a Fishbone Diagram (also called the Ishikawa Diagram), can uncover unimaginable realities about your business or production process. It can be summed up as a tool for facilitating a root-cause brainstorming session. One of the most versatile tools in the Lean toolbox. Break down the causes into sub-causes, till you cannot drill down further causes.The Fishbone Diagram.Connect these causes to the category branches respectively. Analyze the causes from these categories that contribute to the effect.Identify the areas, broad level categories, to be studied and branch them from the backbone.Draw a straight line from the head, leading to the left.Draw the head on the right which contains the problem (effect or issue) for analysis.Some marketing industries use the categories as 7Ps:.The 6 general categories of analysis are: Sometimes it includes Management and Maintenance along with the categories mentioned below. The company Toyota popularized a classification concept of 6 Ms. The branching depends on the levels required under each classification. The ribs denote categories or classification of causes for the analysis, which branch out into causes and sub causes. The 'bones' extend on the left to show the different causes. The 'head' of the skeleton depicts the problem or effect, which is usually shown on the right. It derives its name for its shape which resembles the side view of the skeleton of a fish. Sometimes, it can also be helpful to analyze what can go wrong - preventing future problems. It helps to identify, analyze and improve quality issues. It helps to visualize the potential causes in order to find the root cause of a particular problem. The fishbone diagram is also known as the Ishikawa diagram, as a tribute to its creator.Ī fish-bone diagram is one of the seven quality circles (QC) tools. He used this tool for the first time when he worked with the Kawasaki shipyards in the quality management process. He was a Japanese professor and a quality management innovator of his time. Kaoru Ishikawa invented the fishbone diagram in the 1960s.

Ishikawa diagram for manufacturing