The Ishikawa Diagram
The Ishikawa Diagram, or Fishbone Diagram, is a visual tool used to identify and organise possible causes of a problem. It helps teams trace root causes by grouping contributing factors, supporting evidence-based analysis and guiding improvement actions (Wong, Woo & Woo, 2016; Liliana, 2016).
Technique Overview
The Ishikawa Diagram Definition
The Ishikawa Diagram, also known as the Fishbone or Cause-and-Effect Diagram, is a structured visual tool used to identify and classify the possible causes of a specific problem. Developed by Kaoru Ishikawa, it supports root cause analysis by mapping causes under broad categories such as Methods, Machines, Materials, People, Measurement and Environment (Wong, Woo & Woo, 2016; Ilie & Ciocoiu, 2010).
The Ishikawa Diagram Description *
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Business Evidence
Strengths, weaknesses and examples of The Ishikawa Diagram *
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Business Application
Implementation, success factors and measures of The Ishikawa Diagram *
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Professional Tools
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Further Reading
The Ishikawa Diagram web and print resources *
The Ishikawa Diagram references (4 of up to 20) *
- Ardha, N.B.D., Riwajanti, N.I. and Haris, Z.A. (2023) ‘Fishbone diagram: Application of root cause analysis in internal audit planning’, International Journal of Financial, Accounting, and Management, 5(3), pp. 297–309. Available at: https://doi.org/10.35912/ijfam.v5i3.1498
- Carvalho, R., Lobo, M., Oliveira, M., Oliveira, A.R., Lopes, F., Souza, J., Ramalho, A., Viana, J., Alonso, V., Caballero, I. and Santos, J.V., 2021. Analysis of root causes of problems affecting the quality of hospital administrative data: A systematic review and Ishikawa diagram. International jou
- Hermens, M. (1997) ‘A New Use for Ishikawa Diagrams’, Quality Progress, 30(6), American Society for Quality (ASQ). Available at: https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/case-studies/a-new-use-for-ishikawa-diagrams?id=9f729dcc43d34dbeb52e5c1ce698d0a5&srsltid=AfmBOooTzI4uJBj-BQqmoff5QwPqYeDtlLL3RT8m
- Ilie, G. and Ciocoiu, C.N., 2010. Application of fishbone diagram to determine the risk of an event with multiple causes. Management Research and Practice, 2(1), pp. 1–20.
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