Are there any issues delivering your service? Do you have problems with low quality food deliveries? Are there too many dropped phone calls? Can your server handle traffic spikes? Are you getting enough traffic through advertising channels you're paying for? Does your establishment project the right image? Is it run-down? Is it impersonal? Is it comfortable? In the service industry, these are described as the 4S: Occasionally, a manufacturing analysis will also include two other categories: Management and Maintenance. Do you have too little of your workforce devoted to a process? Are new people adequately trained? Is the training consistent? Are the right people with the right experience being hired or promoted? Is there a specific position creating a bottleneck or making frequent mistakes? Is there too much moisture in the environment? Are temperatures too hot or too cold? Is there excessive dust or other contamination? Could there be errors in calculation or contamination that caused false readings? Could the way you measure be inconsistent in some way? Is your equipment regularly calibrated and maintained? Are there any issues getting raw materials from suppliers? Any problems with transportation (timing) or with the quality of the supplies? Are there any maintenance issues with the tools used or the number of tools available? Are there well-written and appropriate training guidelines in place? Are certain policies or regulations causing slow-downs or creating unnecessary steps? In the manufacturing industry, these are referred to as the 6Ms: Most cause and effect diagrams examine a similar set of possible causes for any issue analyzed. Each of these branches can contain additional branches. Next, angle branches off of the spine, each representing a cause or effect of the main issue. A line called the 'spine' or 'backbone' should extend to the left starting from the edge of the main box (if you're using a SmartDraw template, this will already be there for you). To begin making a cause and effect diagram, write the main issue or problem to be analyzed in a box that is typically on the right edge of the page, halfway down the drawing area or page. One of the reasons cause & effect diagrams are also called fishbone diagrams is because the completed diagram ends up looking like a fish's skeleton with the fish head to the right of the diagram and the bones branching off behind it to the left. One of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, it is often referred to as a fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram. It can also be useful for showing relationships between contributing factors. Cause and Effect What is a Cause and Effect Diagram?Ī cause and effect diagram examines why something happened or might happen by organizing potential causes into smaller categories.

Ishikawa diagram tutorial