A ____ diagram is used to describe the wiring details of a specific piece of equipment.

How to create a fishbone diagram

Fishbone diagrams are typically made during a team meeting and drawn on a flipchart or whiteboard. Once a problem that needs to be studied further is identified, teams can take the following steps to create the diagram:

1. The head of the fish is created by listing the problem in a statement format and drawing a box around it. A horizontal arrow is then drawn across the page with an arrow pointing to the head. This acts as the backbone of the fish.
2. Then at least four overarching "causes" are identified that might contribute to the problem. Some generic categories to start with may include methods, skills, equipment, people, materials, environment or measurements. These causes are then drawn to branch off from the spine with arrows, making the first bones of the fish.
3. For each overarching cause, team members should brainstorm any supporting information that may contribute to it. This typically involves some sort of questioning methods, such as the 5 Why's or the 4P's (Policies, Procedures, People and Plant) to keep the conversation focused. These contributing factors are written down to branch off their corresponding cause.
4. This process of breaking down each cause is continued until the root causes of the problem have been identified. The team then analyzes the diagram until an outcome and next steps are agreed upon.

Example of a fishbone diagram

The following graphic is an example of a fishbone diagram with the problem "Website went down." Two of the overarching causes have been identified as "Unable to connect to server" and "DNS lookup problem," with further contributing factors branching off.

When to use a fishbone diagram

A few reasons a team might want to consider using a fishbone diagram are:

• To identify the possible causes of a problem.
• To help develop a product that addresses issues within current market offerings.
• To reveal bottlenecks or areas of weakness in a business process.
• To avoid reoccurring issues or employee burnout.
• To ensure that any corrective actions put into place will resolve the issue.