Bas ic Tools for Pro cess Im provem ent

What is a Cause-and-Effect Diagram?

A Cause-and-Effect Diagram is a tool that helps identify, sort, and display possible
causes of a specific problem or quality characteristic (Viewgraph 1). It graphically
illustrates the relationship between a given outcome and all the factors that influence
the outcome. This type of diagram is sometimes called an "Ishikawa diagram"
because it was invented by Kaoru Ishikawa, or a "fishbone diagram" because of the
way it looks.

When should a team use a Cause-And-Effect Diagram?

Constructing a Cause-and-Effect Diagram can help your team when you need to

 Identify the pos sib le root caus es, the basic reasons, for a specific effect,
problem, or condition.

 Sort o ut and relate som e of the interactions among the factors affecting a
particular process or effect.

 Analyze existing p roblem s so that corrective action can be taken.

Why should we use a Cause-and-Effect Diagram?

A Cause-and-Effect Diagram is a tool that is useful for identifying and organizing the
known or possible causes of quality, or the lack of it. The structure provided by the
diagram helps team members think in a very systematic way. Some of the benefits
of constructing a Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Viewgraphs 2) are that it

 Helps d eterm ine the root causes of a problem or quality characteristic

using a structured approach.

 Enc ourages g roup particip ation and utilizes group knowledge of the
process.

 Uses an ord erly, easy-to-read form at to diagram cause-and-effect

relationships.

 Indic ates poss ible causes of v ariation in a process.

 In creases k nowledge of the proc ess by helping everyone to learn more

about the factors at work and how they relate.

 Identifies areas where d ata should be c ollec ted for further study.

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How do we develop a Cause-and-Effect Diagram?

When you develop a Cause-and-Effect Diagram, you are constructing a structured,
pictorial display of a list of causes organized to show their relationship to a specific
effect. Viewgraph 3 shows the basic layout of a Cause-and-Effect Diagram. Notice
that the diagram has a cause side and an effect side. The steps for constructing and
analyzing a Cause-and-Effect Diagram are outlined below.

Step 1 - Identify and c learly defin e the outc om e or EFFECT to be analyzed

(Viewgraph 4).

 Decide on the effect to be examined. Effects are stated as particular quality

characteristics, problems resulting from work, planning objectives, and the like.

 Use Operational Definitions. Develop an Operational Definition of the effect to

ensure that it is clearly understood.

 Remember, an effect may be positive (an objective) or negative (a problem),

depending upon the issue that’s being discussed.

> Using a positive effect which focuses on a desired outcome tends to foster
pride and ownership over productive areas. This may lead to an upbeat
atmosphere that encourages the participation of the group. When possible,
it is preferable to phrase the effect in positive terms.

> Focusing on a negative effect can sidetrack the team into justifying why the
problem occurred and placing blame. However, it is sometimes easier for
a team to focus on what causes a problem than what causes an excellent
outcome. While you should be cautious about the fallout that can result
from focusing on a negative effect, getting a team to concentrate on things
that can go wrong may foster a more relaxed atmosphere and sometimes
enhances group participation.

You must decide which approach will work best with your group.

NOTE: The EXAMPLE that is imbedded in the explanation of Cause-and-Effect

Diagram construction and analysis on the next few pages is based on a chart in
The Memory Jogger [Ref. 1, p. 28]. This diagram has been broken down into its
component parts and expanded to illustrate the construction steps. Using this
example, we will diagram the causes relating to a car’s getting poor gas mileage.

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Step 2 - Using a chartpack positioned s o that ev ery one can see it, draw the
SPINE and create th e EFFECT box .

 Draw a horizontal arrow pointing to the right. This is the spine.

 To the right of the arrow, write a brief description of the effect or outcome
which results from the process.

EXAMPLE: The EFFECT is Poor Gas Mileage (Viewgraph 5).

 Draw a box around the description of the effect.

Step 3 - Iden tify the m ain CAUSES contributing to the effect being studied .
These are the labels for the m ajor branch es of your diagram and become
catego ries under which to list the many causes related to those categories.

 Establish the main causes, or categories, under which other possible causes
will be listed. You should use category labels that make sense for the diagram
you are creating. Here are some commonly used categories:

> 3Ms and P - methods, materials, machinery, and people

> 4Ps - policies, procedures, people, and plant
> Environment - a potentially significant fifth category

 Write the main categories your team has selected to the left of the effect box,
some above the spine and some below it.

 Draw a box around each category label and use a diagonal line to form a
branch connecting the box to the spine.

EXAMPLE: Viewgraph 6 uses the 3Ms and P to start developing the diagram
we began in Step 2.

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Step 4 - For eac h m ajor b ran ch, identify other spec ific facto rs wh ich may be
th e CAUSES of the EFFECT [Ref. 5, p. 20].

Identify as many causes or factors as possible and attach them as

subbranches of the major branches.

EXAMPLE: The possible CAUSES for Poor Gas Mileage are listed under the
appropriate categories in Viewgraph 7:

Fill in detail for each cause. If a minor cause applies to more than one major
cause, list it under both.

Step 5 - Id entify inc reasingly m ore detailed levels of c auses and c ontinue
organizing th em under related c auses or categories. You can do this by
asking a series o f why ques tions.

EXAMPLE: We’ll use a series of why questions to fill in the detailed levels for
one of the causes listed under each of the main categories.

Q: Why was the driver USING THE WRONG GEAR?

A: The driver couldn't hear the engine.
Q: Why couldn't the driver hear the engine?
A: The radio was too loud.
A: Poor hearing

Q: Why were the TIRES UNDERINFLATED?

A: No record of tire pressure
A: Difficult air stems
Q: Why were the air stems difficult?
A: Poor design

Q: Why was MAINTENANCE POOR?

A: Lack of money
A: No awareness

Q: Why was WRONG OCTANE GAS used?

A: Didn’t know recommended octane
Q: Why wasn’t recommended octane known?
A: No owner's m anual

Viewgraph 8 shows how the diagram looks when all the contributing causes that
were identified by the series of why questions have been filled in. As you can
see, there may be many levels of causes contributing to the effect.

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NOTE: You may need to break your diagram into smaller diagrams if one branch
has too many subbranches. Any main cause (3Ms and P, 4Ps, or a category you
have named) can be reworded into an effect.

Step 6 - Analyze the diagram . Analysis helps you identify causes that warrant
further investigation. Since Cause-and-Effect Diagrams identify only poss ible
causes, you may want to use a Pareto Chart to help your team determine the
cause to focus on first.

Look at the “balance” of your diagram, checking for comparable levels of detail
for most of the categories.

> A thick cluster of items in one area may indicate a need for further study.
> A main category having only a few specific causes may indicate a need for
further identification of causes.
> If several major branches have only a few subbranches, you may need to
combine them under a single category.

Look for causes that appear repeatedly. These may represent root causes.

Look for what you can measure in each cause so you can quantify the effects
of any changes you make.

Most importantly, identify and circle the causes that you can take action on.

EXAMPLE: Let's analyze the diagram we have been constructing.

> The level of detail is pretty well balanced.

> No causes are repeated.

> Poor Maintenance appears to be a cause for which you could develop
measurements.

> Moreover, Poor Maintenance appears to be a cause that you can take
action on. It is circled in Viewgraph 8 to earmark it for further investigation.

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Example of How the Cause-and-Effect Diagram

Could Be Constructed for the Detailed Exercise

SOFTWARE USERS
FAULTY MISAPPLICATION
FAULTY INSTALLATION LACK OF OF SOFTWARE
DESIGN TRAINING
MISUSE OF
FAULTY
HARDWARE
INADEQUATE MEDIA ABUSE OF
DOCUMENTATION HARDWARE
COMPUTER
FAULTY CORROSION
DOWNTIME
COMPONENT
COMPONENT MECHANICAL
FAILURE SHOCK
POWER HUMIDITY
FLUCTUATIONS INADEQUATE TEMPERATURE
POWER GRADIENTS

HARDWARE ENVIRONMENT

CAUSE-AND-EFFECT DIAGRAM VIEWGRAPH 9

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