Cause and Effect Analysis

Getting to the Root Cause of Problems and Understanding their Impacts

Why Are We Using This Technique?
Defining a solution to a problem without conducting a
cause/effect analysis is like shooting an arrow without aiming.
You are ensuring that the solution you define will really hit the
mark.

ASSUMPTION: You Have a Problem

• Jumping straight to “defining solutions” often leads to failure. You may
have a problem now because the current “solution” addresses the wrong
problem.
• Understanding your problem completely means you can define a complete
solution, versus a partial one which could lead to long-term failure.
 How Does It Work?
You’re going to use the fishbone diagramming technique
developed by Kaoru Ishikawa to get to the root of your problem.
(Breaking a big problem down into granular “causes”)

Your Goals
Use the Ishikawa (aka: fishbone, herringbone, cause and effect, fishikawa)
diagram to drive a discussion about the issues you face
• Identify the root (the real, most elemental) cause of your problem.
• Discover bottlenecks or inefficiencies in your process.
 Identify The Problem
State the problem as you understand it now.
Express it in three words or less.
This is the “Effect”

Effect

Problem
Statement
 Identify The Factors Involved
Identify the big “things” that might be involved in causing the
problem.

Effect Causes
ment

Timing

]
[Factor
Environ

Problem
Statement [Factor]
Staff
 Brainstorm Potential Causes
Drop each cause into a category. Create new categories and
adjust old ones as needed. Include primary and secondary
causes. The group should agree on the diagram as it evolves.

Effect Causes
Recession?
ment

Timing

]
[Factor
Environ

Merger?

Problem
Statement
Layoffs?
[Facto
Staff

Ina

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 Identify THE Critical Cause(s)
Identify one (if possible) cause to focus on. Use the 5 whys
technique to ensure you are focusing on the right level of
granularity (i.e. - identifying the “root” cause).

Effect Causes
Recession? Why? Production Costs
ment

Timing

]
[Factor
Why? Corporate Performance
Environ

Merger?
Why? No Funding
Projects Why? Dated Technology + Layoffs Senior Staff
Grinding to a Why? Inadequate Technical Skills
Halt
Inadequate Skillsets
Layoffs?
[Facto
Staff

Ina

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de
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 Review & Discuss Next Steps
Now that you know what the real problem is, how will you solve
it?

Effect Causes
Recession? Why? Production Costs
ment

Timing

]
[Factor
Why? Corporate Performance
Environ

Merger?
Why? No Funding
Projects Why? Dated Technology + Layoffs Senior Staff
Grinding to a Why? Inadequate Technical Skills
Halt
Inadequate Skillsets
Layoffs?
[Facto
Staff

Ina

r]
de
qu
ate
Skil
lse
ts