Ishikawa Diagram
Developed by Kaoru Ishikawa, this diagram visualises the causes of a problem in a structured fishbone shape. The problem (effect) sits at the right, with major cause categories branching off like fish bones. The most common categories are the 6Ms: Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, Mother Nature (environment). It's a systematic root cause analysis tool that prevents teams from jumping to solutions too quickly.
Come eseguirlo
- 1
Write the problem statement (effect) in a box on the right side of the board.
- 2
Draw a horizontal arrow pointing to the problem box — this is the 'spine'.
- 3
Draw 4–6 diagonal branches off the spine, one for each major cause category (use 6Ms, or customise for your context).
- 4
For each category, brainstorm contributing causes and add them as sub-branches.
- 5
Ask 'Why?' for each cause to find deeper root causes (combine with Five Whys).
- 6
Look for causes that appear in multiple categories — these are often the most significant.
- 7
Prioritise 1–3 root causes for action.
Suggerimenti
Use the 6Ms as starting categories but relabel them for your context (e.g.
for software: Code, Infrastructure, Process, People, Data, External).
Don't let the categories constrain — add a branch if something doesn't fit.
Variazioni
Combine with the Five Whys for deeper root cause analysis on individual branches. Run digitally using Miro or Lucidchart for distributed teams.
Casi d'uso
Domande frequenti
Quando usare Ishikawa Diagram?â–¾
Usa Ishikawa Diagram quando vuoi: Root cause analysis; Quality improvement; Incident post-mortems; Process problem solving.
Quanto dura Ishikawa Diagram?â–¾
Ishikawa Diagram dura tipicamente da 30 a 60 minuti.
Per quanti partecipanti è adatto Ishikawa Diagram?▾
Ishikawa Diagram funziona meglio per gruppi di 2–15 partecipanti.
Di quali materiali ho bisogno per Ishikawa Diagram?â–¾
Per condurre Ishikawa Diagram avrai bisogno di: whiteboard or flip chart, markers.
Quanto è difficile facilitare Ishikawa Diagram?▾
Ishikawa Diagram è classificato come intermedio — è utile avere un po' di esperienza di facilitazione.
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