Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis

What is a Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis?

The Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis is a collaborative tool used to systematically identify and analyze the potential causes of a specific problem or challenge. 



Named for its resemblance to a fish’s skeleton, this diagram visually organizes potential causes into categories to pinpoint the root issue more effectively.

The key components of the Fishbone Root Cause Analysis are:

The Fish Head: This is the main problem or issue you want the group to analyze.



The Spine: These are the main categories or broad areas where causes might lie. These can either be created as a standard in advance, or determined when different issues are raised. They can then be reorganized under each bone to determine the category.



The Bones : These are the specific issues that are creating the problem that need to be addressed.

Why do a Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis?

• It provides a structured yet creative way to identify the root causes of a problem.
• Teams can visually break down complex problems into manageable and actionable pieces.
• It encourages diverse perspectives and input, ensuring that all potential factors are considered.
• With an in-built timer, discussions remain focused and time-efficient.
• Rather than addressing the symptoms of an issue or challenge, you can drill down towards a cause. This means that the action you take is more targeted and effective.

Related templates

• Corrective Action Plan
• DMAIC Analysis Template
• Force Field Analysis
• PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting)

Tips for facilitating an effective Fishbone Root Cause Analysis

• Clearly define the problem or challenge you want the team to analyze. This ensures focus and avoids irrelevant discussions.
• Enable anonymity if possible, to encourage open and honest contributions, especially for sensitive or challenging topics.
• Guide the discussion to dig deeper into why a particular issue is occurring, rather than just identifying surface-level symptoms. Use the 5 Why approach.
• If multiple causes are identified, have participants vote to prioritize and figure out which root causes to address first.
• For each identified root cause, assign actionable solutions to prevent or mitigate the issue in the future.

References

• Using Fishbone Diagrams to Solve Problems
• Determining Cause and Effect
• Kaoru Ishikawa
• Problem-Solving Made Easy

Who should do an Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis?

A Fishbone Root Cause Analysis is ideal for teams looking to solve complex problems collaboratively such as:


• Quality assurance and control teams identifying and addressing defects or errors in products or processes.

• Cross functional teams that have a shared problem.

• Agile teams aiming to resolve blockers and bottlenecks.

• Operational teams looking to improve operational efficiency and minimizing downtime.

• Customer service teams trying to identify the root causes of customer complaints or low satisfaction scores.

• Product development teams enhancing product design and resolving issues for new product launches.

• Health and safety teams investigating workplace accidents or health hazards.

• IT security teams troubleshooting system failures or security vulnerabilities.

• Education teams looking for gaps in training programs or student performance.

• Health care teams addressing patient care issues or inefficiencies in medical procedures.

Common Fishbone analysis formats

How to run a Fishbone (Ishikawa) Root Cause Analysis

Firstly, identify and describe the key issue that you want the team to consider. This now becomes the head of the Fish.



If you have already selected a common format (As explained above) or have created your own, add these categories to the Spine of the Fish. Otherwise, you can simply ask participants to brainstorm freely on any section, and then sort and categorize these later.



Describe the problem to the team and ensure that they understand the issue and have asked any questions they need to clarify.



Have the team brainstorm as many potential causes (one cause per card) and add them to the Ishikawa Diagram. Once the time has passed or there are clear causes identified, have the group review and categorize them as needed. You can use votes to see where people believe the root causes lie.



Finally, based on the identified root cause ( or root causes) ask the group to create potential action items that can be put in place to address each cause. Discuss each action in turn and then assign importance and ownership. You have now completed a root cause analysis.

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