Fishbone Diagrams

Inside

What I Need to Get Started

Both ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and drawing software and the Fishbone Diagrams solution can help creating the business planning diagrams you need. The Fishbone Diagrams solution can be found in the Management area of ConceptDraw STORE application that can be downloaded from this site. Make sure that both ConceptDraw DIAGRAM and ConceptDraw STORE applications are installed on your computer before you get started.

How to install

After ConceptDraw STORE and ConceptDraw DIAGRAM are downloaded and installed, you can install the Fishbone Diagrams solution from the ConceptDraw STORE.

Start using

To make sure that you are doing it all right, use the pre-designed symbols from the stencil libraries from the solution to make your drawings look smart and professional. Also, the pre-made examples from this solution can be used as drafts so your own drawings can be based on them. Using the samples, you can always change their structures, colors and data.

HelpDesk

How to Create a Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram Quickly

How to Draw a Fishbone Diagram with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

Fishbone Diagrams

A causal model is an abstract concept, that describes the causal mechanisms of a system, by noting certain variables and their influence on each other, in an effort to discover the cause of a certain problem or flaw. This model is presented in diagram form by using a fishbone diagram — also known as a cause and effect diagram, herringbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram, the latter name referring to the inventor of the technique, Kaoru Ishikawa. The fish-themed names are used due to the visual arrangement of the numerous variables, designed to represent the ribs of a skeletal fish, that arrow into a central spine whereupon the main problem is placed where the head would be.

A generic fishbone diagram, identifying key points — created using ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

The primary aim of a fishbone diagram is to identify the root cause of a certain effect, achieved by breaking the causes down into successive levels of detail, in order to assess the level of influence for each one. This makes them popular for use product design and quality control; for systems that have a wide source variables acting upon them, and where it isn't always immediately apparent which variable is negatively affecting the end result. For example, say a product is coming off the line which is of poor quality. Is it the fault of the materials? The line equipment? Perhaps the input of the workers on the line? A fishbone diagram allows you to collect all these causes in terms of their relationship with one another, and narrow down the problem to the root cause.

Causes are commonly grouped into a number of distinct categories. There are other variations to this list, and other causes specific to certain industries, which we will look at later. But this list shows the type of causes and variables that often need to be identified:

• People — anyone who directly influences a process, employees, couriers, customers etc.
• Machines — the equipment required for a task, computers, tooling, transport.
• Materials — resources used in a process, or used to design products.
• Methods — rules and regulations that are attributed to a task, certain policies and procedures.
• Environment — environmental conditions such as location, temperature, time, and even local culture.

As an indication of their usefulness in regards to quality management, fishbone diagrams represent one of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, a collection of diagram techniques seen as the most helpful in a troubleshooting scenario. The other diagrams in this group include the check sheet, control chart, histogram, Pareto chart, scatter diagram and flow chart — they are known as 'basic' tools due to their relative ease of use people unfamiliar with diagram techniques.

The industry of causation

While certain causes and effects can be found in any line of industry, different forms of business with different end-goals will choose a particular emphasis when identifying possible variables. Manufacturing problems are most likely to arise through machinery or material causation, while service industries can look at pricing and customer interaction aspects. As such, certain industries have their own framework from which to pinpoint variables; this reference guide can then be brainstormed collaboratively and grouped into relevant categories on the fishbone.

Here are some examples of industry specific causation categories:

Manufacturing — The 5 Ms

• Machine (equipment and technology)
• Measurement (inspection, data results)
• Material (raw materials, consumables and information)
• Method (steps in design process)
• Man/Mind Power (physical labour or brainpower)
  
  
  

  Cause of product issue during manufacture, created using ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

Marketing — The 8 Ps

• Product (product quality, features, brand, packaging)
• Distribution (locations, middle men, availability, stock levels)
• Price (retail price, manufacturing cost, discounts, pricing strategies)
• Promotion (advertising, publicity, web presence, market research)
• People (expertise, capabilities, experience, training)
• Processes (project management, product development)
• Performance (productivity, profitability)
• Philosophy (mission, planning, vision)

Services — The 5 Ss

• Surrounding (locations, local rules and customs)
• Suppliers (who provides resources, materials etc)
• Systems (computer systems or networks)
• Skills (aptitude of the workforce)
• Safety (codes and standards of best practice that must be followed)

These are some of the more common variants; different lists exist which add or take away certain elements, but these surmise the core principles. The simple intention is to encourage thorough inspection of anything that might relate to a core problem that needs solving — really, the prompts you use to do this are up to you.

Solving problems with ConceptDraw

As part of ConceptDraw's ever expanding portfolio of business productivity tools, the Fishbone Diagram solution offers assistance to those using problem solving techniques in their line of work. Combined with the intuitive controls of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM, the solution aims to be accessible for any level of user, with a full tutorial and video section for beginners. As ever with solutions from CS Odessa, full vector stencil libraries are provided, full of professionally designed graphics and icons, as well as an array of templates and samples that give an example of the sort of form a fishbone diagram can take.

The Fishbone Diagram solution is one of a number of solutions aimed at creating causal models and workflow problem solving. In fact, many of the diagrams listed alongside fishbones as the Seven Basic Tools of Quality have a dedicated solution or library found in ConceptDraw's Solution Park, such as root cause diagrams, flowcharts, and histograms. Taken together, all these elements combine to create a powerful software suite capable of taking care of all your problem solving requirements.