More Fishbone Diagram Templates

Product Fishbone Diagram Template

Project Fishbone Diagram Template

Strategy Fishbone Diagram Template

About the Fishbone Diagram Template

A fishbone diagram—also called an Ishikawa diagram or cause-and-effect diagram—organizes possible causes of a clearly defined problem into categories. It is especially useful for structured brainstorming when several people or process factors may contribute to the same effect.

Use this editable Fishbone Diagram Template to place the problem at the fish head, group potential causes on the major bones, and add more specific sub-causes as the analysis develops. The diagram helps a team see where to investigate next, but the branches represent hypotheses to verify; a fishbone diagram by itself does not prove that a listed factor is the root cause.

For manufacturing, teams often start with the 6M categories—people/manpower, machine, method, material, measurement, and environment/Mother Nature. Service, healthcare, marketing, and project teams can rename the categories to match their process instead of forcing every problem into the 6M structure.

Source note: The American Society for Quality describes fishbone diagrams as a quality tool for sorting many possible causes into useful categories and recommends continuing the analysis to determine which causes should be addressed ASQ.

View, edit, and download this template in EdrawMind >>

When developing your marketing strategy fishbone diagram, you can get a head start using the Marketing Fishbone Diagram Template. You may save the file to your computer and use it to create your very own marketing fishbone diagram.

2. Problem Statement Fishbone Diagram Template

View, edit, and download this template in EdrawMind >>

Using a fishbone diagram as a starting point for the root cause analysis is a simple method to get started. Visual components can be used to represent the problem, the categories of reasons that contributed to it, and the causes that contributed to those causes. The arrows in the diagram demonstrate the causal connection between the various parts and how they relate to the problematic occurrence. Fishbone diagrams are adaptable problem-solving tools that can be applied in any field or setting.

3. Production Process Fishbone Diagram Template

View, edit, and download this template in EdrawMind >>

This template represents an assembly line production process as consisting of many kinds of functions and steps. On the diagram, every component has been placed where it should be according to the instructions.

What is Fishbone Diagram?

A fishbone diagram maps a single effect or problem statement to categories of potential causes and then to more detailed sub-causes. Its value is the relationship it makes explicit: problem → cause category → possible contributing factor. This makes it easier to compare ideas from different stakeholders without treating the first explanation as the final root cause.

Pros of Fishbone Diagram

A fishbone diagram is most useful when a problem has multiple plausible contributors and the team needs a shared structure for brainstorming before evidence is collected or tested.

A problem statement, its primary reasons, and their supporting secondary causes can be represented graphically using a fishbone diagram.
The graphic is helpful for brainstorming since it consolidates all of the potential avenues of thought into one central location.
Members of the team and other interested parties can gain insight into the current problem status using the graphical tool.

Cons of Fishbone Diagram

The main limitation is analytical, not visual: a fishbone diagram can organize possible causes, but it cannot establish causality, rank causes objectively, or replace measurement and verification. Complex diagrams can also become difficult to read when too many branches are added.

When depicting intricate problems with several causes and sub-causes, the resulting diagram may become unwieldy and difficult to read.
A brainstorming session may yield a laundry list of unimportant facts and reasons.
It might be challenging to recognize the interconnectedness of numerous causes and circumstances.

How to Make a Fishbone Diagram

Start with a specific effect that the team can observe or measure. Then organize possible causes, drill down with repeated “why” questions, and finally verify the most plausible causes with process data, records, observations, or experiments before choosing corrective actions.

Step 1: Determine a Problem Statement
First, your team and any relevant stakeholders need to settle on a problem statement that accurately captures the nature of the issue at hand. The diagram's heading also serves as the statement's visual representation (fishbone skeleton). The direction of the head is indicated by an arrow drawn horizontally across the page (the fish backbone). How to Make a Fishbone Diagram

Step 2: Think about Major Causes or Options
They are categorized into categories to facilitate the possible causes of the problem, including manpower, method, machine, material, medium, and measurement (using the 6Ms approach to root cause analysis). Arrows pointing to the fish's backbone are represented as the bones of the categories. How to Make a Fishbone Diagram

Step 3: Brainstorm all the Possible Causes or Options
The analysis group should employ root cause analysis techniques like the 5 Whys to identify subcategories of causes that feed into the larger categories. In the diagram, these are depicted as extensions of the fish skeleton. The layered bones that form once root causes have been isolated reveal the interconnectedness of those factors.

Step 4: Analyze the Diagram
The team can identify and evaluate all potential causes by asking why questions. If the source of the claimed problem has not been found after more brainstorming, consideration is given to regions of the diagram with fewer ideas. How to Make a Fishbone Diagram

How to Make a Fishbone Diagram in PowerPoint, Excel or Word

You can generate a fishbone diagram with the help of EdrawMind and then effortlessly export it to PowerPoint, Excel or Word. After exporting your Fishbone Diagram, you can change it in PowerPoint, Excel or Word at any time; you will not need to return to EdrawMind to export it again.

Key Takeaways

Use a fishbone template when you need to structure cause hypotheses, not when you already need statistical proof of the root cause. EdrawMind lets you open an editable fishbone layout, expand cause and sub-cause branches, collaborate on the analysis, and export the finished diagram for sharing.

Best fit: incident reviews, quality problems, service issues, process improvement, and team brainstorming with several possible contributing factors. Limitation: validate the shortlisted causes with evidence before treating them as root causes.

For an authoritative explanation of the method and procedure, see ASQ’s fishbone diagram guide. You can also download EdrawMind or watch the existing EdrawMind fishbone tutorial video.