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Curious Cat Management Improvement Library - Dictionary

Cause and Effect Diagram (fishbone diagram, Ishikawa diagram) - display of a problem statement and the possible reasons for the problem. The causes (possible reasons for the resulting condition) should not be stated as solutions. The main reason not to list solutions is that the tool is meant to aid in the problem solving process by exploring the issues relating to the effect (the result or problem statement) and to prevent leaping to solutions prior to examining the issues involved.
Developed by Kaoru Ishikawa, author of the Guide to Quality Control and What Is Total Quality Control?.

Related Terms:

• Seven Basic Quality Tools
• Control Chart
• Six Sigma

Online Resources:

• Cause and Effect Diagram - 23 page handbook on the tool.
• Cause and Effect Diagram overview
• Cause-and-Effect Diagram overview from the United Nations Children's Fund, The Manager's Electronic Resource Center, Management Sciences for Health.
• Root Cause Analysis by Peter Abilla, 2006.