Fishbone

Fishbone/ Ishikawa is a tool used to analyse cause and effect, invented by Professor Kaoru Ishikawa, who was a pioneer of quality management back in the 1960s. This method allows organisations to create diagrams known as Ishikawa diagrams or Fishbone diagrams (diagram looks like a fish).
The initial creation of Fishbone diagrams was for the purpose of quality control mechanism; however, it can be used to discover the root cause of a problem, and to identify where and why a process isn’t functioning as it is meant to. 

In order to make use of the diagram, you can only use the number of spines relevant to your business, you don’t have to use them all. Although there isn’t a set labelling system for the spines, some of the common labels are, materials, process, environment, people, skills, equipment, and measurements.  
The way that you use a Fishbone diagram is, you write down the exact problem you face, and you identify who is involved, and when and where the issue occurs.

The spines on the Fishbone diagram refer to possible causes of a problem that were brainstormed, and thus, this is where you identify the root cause.
With all this being said, this exercise is potentially subject to bias and prejudice, as it’s down to personal and human opinion, and can therefore mean it can be manipulated, however, this tool does help gather lots of different ideas and organise them effectively. 

Learning Objectives:
•Examine what a Fishbone diagram is
•Identify the uses of a Fishbone diagram and how to use it
•Integrate the Fishbone methodology to identify the root cause of problems