How to Make a Fishbone Diagram for Root Cause Analysis

You have the perfect project plan—everything mapped out to hit your milestones and achieve your goals. But after completing the project, you realize some tasks are still incomplete, and you didn’t deliver the results you were hoping for.

Sometimes, outdated processes or inefficient systems slow you down. Other times, it might be a lack of training or clarity among your team that results in project failure. Whatever the cause, finding and fixing the root problem is the first step to making sure it doesn’t happen again.

A fishbone diagram can be a great way to map out the problem and uncover potential causes. It helps you untangle the main issue, spot patterns, and figure out what’s going wrong.

In this guide, we discuss fishbone diagrams in detail and a step-by-step process to create one. Let’s go!

How to Make a Fishbone Diagram for Root Cause Analysis?

What Is a Fishbone Diagram?

A fishbone diagram is a visualization tool, like any flowchart template, that helps teams uncover the underlying issues in any business problem.

Also called Ishikawa diagrams, herringbone diagrams, or cause-and-effect diagrams, this diagram’s primary purpose is to visually map out the causes and sub-causes leading to a particular problem or issue.

How to Make a Fishbone Diagram by GeeksforGeeks — via GeeksforGeeks

Origin of the Fishbone diagram

Fishbone diagrams have been solving business problems since the 1920s. They became famous in 1968 when Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese engineering professor, refined and popularized the concept while working on quality management at the Kawasaki Shipyards.

Since then, this simple yet effective tool has become a go-to for more than just fixing issues. It’s now widely used to prevent recurring challenges, improve existing processes, and develop successful products.

🤔 Did you know? Mazda Motors, the iconic Japanese carmaker, designed the legendary Miata (MX5) sports car using fishbone diagrams. Their engineering team used it to brainstorm creative ideas, identify flaws in existing models, and design a car that would thrill enthusiasts everywhere.

The result? The Mazda MX-5 is a ride that’s fun to drive and easy on the wallet. Proof that a little structured problem-solving can lead to a whole lot of joy on the road.

Applications of Fishbone Diagram

Fishbone diagrams are super helpful in more ways than you can imagine. Trimming it to the basics, here are three simple fishbone diagram examples in real life:

1. Property Management

In property management, fishbone diagrams uncover why equipment malfunctions. To better see the underlying problem, categories like People, Process, Assets, Environment, Materials, and Suppliers start revealing patterns that allow facility managers to plan their maintenance better.

2. Marketing

Marketing teams usually make an Ishikawa diagram to brainstorm creative strategies or analyze campaigns. In fact, categories like Product, Promotion, People, Marketing Channels, and Processes help marketers spot weak points, understand customer preferences, and create campaigns that actually connect with their audience.

3. Quality Management

No one likes defective products! A cause-and-effect diagram helps quality teams dig into issues like Design, Material, Inspection, and Process. This reveals what’s affecting product quality so companies can perform root cause analysis, improve customer satisfaction, and protect their reputation.

Are you curious about how to make a fishbone diagram? Start by identifying the problem, brainstorming possible causes, and sorting them into categories. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that works across industries!

Bonus: How to Make a Concept Map Diagram (With Examples)?

Benefits of Using a Fishbone Diagram

Here’s why using a fishbone diagram can be a real game-changer:

Identifies root causes efficiently

This is the most immediate benefit. Fishbone diagrams make spotting root causes easy. They’re perfect for digging into any problem and uncovering its hidden issues. What’s great is they break everything down so you can clearly see what’s going on!

Encourages team collaboration

Fishbone diagrams are all about teamwork. They bring everyone together to brainstorm, share ideas, and solve problems. This helps tackle the issue at hand, strengthens team bonds, and boosts motivation. Talk about a win-win!

Provides a clear visual structure

These diagrams offer a simple way to organize the various causes of a problem. Their clean, straight-line structure (with branches) helps you see how different factors are connected.

The easy-to-understand visual format makes it all the more effortless to identify links, relationships, and potential solutions.

Understanding the Elements of a Fishbone Diagram

Living up to its name, fishbone diagrams resemble the shape of a fish or fish skeleton.

Let’s discuss how different parts denote the problems and causes:

Head: The head of the fish (starting from the right side) is where you formulate or define the problem statement
Backbone or spine: The horizontal line, or the backbone, emerging from the head acts as a way to connect all the bones (causes) to the head or problem
Bones: The bones, or the lines coming from the backbone, indicate the main categories that could be causing the problem
Branches: As the final component, smaller lines or branches leading from the bones represent all the factors or sub-causes that contribute to the problem

That said, you will find all these elements in different forms of Fishbone diagrams. Let’s explore what that looks like.

Types of Fishbone Diagrams

Fishbone diagrams come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the type you pick. Let’s explore some popular ones you can use for your project:

1. The simple fishbone diagram

The simple fishbone diagram is the most basic form and has no predefined affinities or categories of causes. So, you have the freedom to customize the categories and factors contributing to the problem according to your industry.

2. The 4S fishbone

The 4S fishbone diagram organizes the causes into four common categories—Suppliers, Systems, Surroundings, and Skills. This type is widely used in the service industry.

3. The 8P fishbone

The 8P fishbone diagram gets its name from its eight cause categories: Procedures, Policies, Place, Product, People, Processes, Price, and Production. While it’s a favorite in the service industry, you can tweak it to fit your own needs and industry.

4. The Man Machines Materials fishbone

Slightly breaking the pattern, this fishbone diagram categorizes causes into six types—Man, Materials, Methods, Machine, Measurements, and Environment. It’s a go-to for the manufacturing industry and sometimes even adds two extra categories—Management/Money and Maintenance—for more flexibility.

No matter which fishbone diagram you choose, they all follow one principle: cause and effect. The cause is the action, and the effect is the result. Simply, each category branch represents a contributing factor to the outcome or problem statement.

Friendly Reminder: When picking a fishbone diagram type, match it to your problem first, not your industry. The 4S works great for service issues, but if you’re analyzing a manufacturing problem in a service company, the 6M (Man, Machine, etc.) might serve you better. The categories are guides, not rules.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Fishbone Diagram

Here’s a step-by-step process on how to make a fishbone diagram:

Step 1: Define the problem

First things first, figure out the main problem you’re trying to solve. Gather your team from different areas (sales, marketing, support, product) and discuss it. Make sure everyone agrees on a clear, specific problem statement.

For example, ‘Customer churn rate increased by 25% in Q3 of 2024.’ Write this problem at the ‘head’ of your fish (on the left side of your diagram). You can also note what you aim to achieve with this analysis to keep everyone aligned!

Step 2: Identify major cause categories

In the second step, work with your team to identify at least four broad categories that might be causing the problem. Think big—what could be influencing the issue?

Think of at least four factors which influence your problem. See if a shift in one of these causes can give you a different effect to explore.

Kaoru Ishikawa

This will set the directions for you to identify the sub-causes within each category in the consequent step.

Circling back to the previous example, here are some areas to be considered for solving the customer churn problem:

Price and subscription system
Promotion or marketing
People (aka your team)
Software
Process

In this case, the customer service, onboarding process, product quality, or pricing structure can be to blame for the surge in the churn rate.

You can add or tweak these categories further depending on your problem. But just a gentle note: Try keeping it under 10 for a more straightforward diagram.

📌 Quick Hack: You can also use Dependency Mapping at this stage. For example, a confusing onboarding process may make the product hard to use, which then affects customer service. When you map these dependencies, you can spot where fixing one thing might solve several problems.

Step 3: Brainstorm possible causes within each category

This is where you take your brainstorming session to the next level. For each category, list all possible causes contributing to the problem. Encourage your team to share every idea, no matter how small.

For instance, if ‘Process’ (from the last step) is a category, some sub-causes might be:

The onboarding process is confusing
Response times are too slow
Product quality isn’t meeting expectations

Keep asking ‘why?’ for each cause until you’ve got all the details. The more you explore, the better!

Step 4: Analyze and prioritize causes

With your diagram complete, it’s time to focus on the patterns. Look for root causes that pop up repeatedly or categories with multiple sub-causes. These are your top priorities.

For example, if ‘Price’ shows up as a factor in several categories, it’s worth digging into. Work with your team to identify what needs attention first and start solving from there.

Step 5: Take Action Based on Findings

Create a clear, step-by-step plan to tackle the top causes you’ve identified.

Start taking action right away and stay flexible. If one category doesn’t lead to a solid solution, redirect your focus to other areas. The key is to keep moving forward, learning, and refining as you go—progress over perfection!

Tips for Creating an Effective Fishbone Diagram

Although fishbone diagrams are super easy to create and analyze, here are some tips that you can note down to create an effective fishbone diagram:

Tip #1: Collaborate with team members

Get everyone involved right from the start! Bring stakeholders into the discussion early, and keep collaborating throughout. To crown it all, encourage input on causes without judgment—this is about brainstorming, not debating.

Tip #2: Keep the diagram simple and focused

All things considered, focus on simplicity. Add only relevant categories and causes that add value to the problem-solving process. Skip the fluff, and make sure the diagram is easy for everyone to understand.

Tip #3: Use software tools for digital diagrams

Why struggle with pen and paper to create fishbone diagrams? There are endless digital tools in the market you can use to decide the best one out of the lot. Better yet, try Whiteboards to make a fishbone diagram, or go for a fishbone diagram maker to avoid the hassle altogether. Let’s see how.

How to Make a Fishbone Diagram with ClickUp?

Sure, you could try using fishbone diagram templates in Excel or Microsoft Word (they’re free, after all). But let’s face it—they can be time-consuming, tricky to customize, and prone to frustrating formatting issues. It’s not exactly ideal when you’re trying to focus on solving problems, right?

What you need is a fishbone diagram maker (or a template) that’s clean, flexible, and ready to handle any level of complexity. You want something that looks great, works across devices, and lets you and your team collaborate seamlessly.

That’s what ClickUp brings to the table. It’s a powerhouse project management tool, and all things work-related. With tools like automation, integrations, and even AI, it’s designed to streamline your workflow.

While not inherently a fishbone diagram maker, ClickUp can make root-cause analysis with its rich feature set. Ready to explore the ClickUp magic?

ClickUp Mind Maps

Take ClickUp Mind Maps, for example. They make it a breeze to map out your fishbone diagrams for root cause analysis.

Start by jotting down your problem statement, explore categories step by step, and even refer to mind map examples if you’re new to it. Plus, you can invite your team to jump in, collaborate, and crack the case together!

Use ClickUp Mind Maps — Map out categories and causes of a fishbone diagram using ClickUp Mind Maps

Once your diagram is done, use the Re-Layout feature to drag and drop and reorganize the causes. This lets you clean up messy brainstorms into a well-organized fishbone structure and determine which causes need your attention first.

ClickUp Mind Maps — Rearrange the causes and turn messy brainstorms into a neat fishbone diagram using the Re-Layout feature

Plus, Mind Maps gives you two modes for complete flexibility:

Blank mode: A free-form space to brainstorm and create custom fishbone diagrams
Task mode: Convert causes into actionable tasks for further investigation or resolution

And if starting from scratch isn’t your vibe, why not use fishbone diagram templates?

ClickUp Fishbone Diagram Template

To sweeten the deal, ClickUp’s Fishbone Diagram Template is here to help you get started fast.

Just sign up for free, add the template to your workspace, and boom—you’re ready to go! State the problem, brainstorm the causes, and customize the template to fit your needs.

Here are its key features 👇

Custom statuses: Turn causes into actionable tasks with statuses like ‘Open’ and ‘Complete’ to track progress easily
Custom Fields: Add categories and details to your tasks, making it super simple to spot patterns and connections at a glance
Custom Views: Switch between the ‘Whiteboard’ and ‘Start Here’ views to get a complete picture of your fishbone diagram and the problem it’s solving
Project management tools: Level up your process with handy features like tags, nested subtasks, multiple assignees, and priority labels to keep everything on track

Once you’ve identified the root causes, instantly convert those insights into ClickUp Tasks. Assign them to team members, set due dates, and track progress—all within ClickUp. It’s the easiest way to go from ‘problem-solving’ to ‘problem solved!’

Download This Template

Also Read: 10 Free Five Whys Root Cause Analysis Templates

Benefits of Using ClickUp for Diagramming and Visualization

Creating fishbone diagrams just got much easier and way more fun with ClickUp!

Let’s look at some of the many advantages of using ClickUp to make a fishbone diagram:

Real-time collaboration: With Whiteboard sharing and instant updates, everyone stays in the loop. No back-and-forth emails, no miscommunication, just smooth teamwork
Customization: Adjust layouts, tweak colors, and make it visually pop—all with a click. Plus, a clear, attractive diagram makes it easier for everyone to understand and use
Automations: ClickUp’s Automation is a huge savior. For example, set up automated workflows that trigger when a task related to a diagram element (like a root cause) is completed, automatically moving it to the next step or notifying relevant team members

Best Practices for Fishbone Diagram Creation

Here are a couple of tips to make your fishbone diagrams even better:

Try the multi-voting technique: After mapping out all the causes, have your team vote on the top three most important ones in each category. Count the votes, and the causes with the most votes are the ones you should tackle first
Mix in other methodologies: For more complex problems, pair your fishbone diagram with tools like Six Sigma. This will help you dive deeper into issues, design smarter workflows, and implement changes that stick

Common mistakes to avoid while creating Fishbone Diagrams

While fishbone diagrams are great for solving problems, it’s best to be aware of common mistakes that might arise. Let’s take a look:

1. Lack of clarity about the problem

If you’re not clear about the problem, it’s tough to define it in your fishbone diagram. A vague problem statement leads to unimaginable confusion down the road. This means you might not get the results you want!

✅ Solution: Use the SMART approach (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to nail down your problem statement. Make sure to involve key stakeholders early on to get valuable insights.

2. Bias, assumptions, and hasty conclusions

Bias and assumptions can seriously mess up your analysis. Whether personal opinions or a lack of data, jumping to conclusions can overlook crucial causes and derail the process.

✅ Solution: Take time to gather input from different experts, review data, and analyze various perspectives. When creating fishbone diagrams, consider all the potential causes and avoid rushing to conclusions without sufficient evidence.

3. Complexity and clutter

When you’re dealing with complex problems, your fishbone diagram can quickly become overcrowded with causes and sub-causes, making it hard to visualize relationships or prioritize them.

✅ Solution: Use fishbone diagram templates to organize your causes into main categories and sub-categories. Prioritize the most relevant causes using factors like severity, frequency, and feasibility.

4. Mistaking symptoms for root causes

It’s easy to confuse ‘symptoms’ with root causes in your fishbone diagram analysis. Truth be told, addressing symptoms won’t solve the underlying business problems in the long run.

✅ Solution: Use the ‘5 Whys’ method and thoroughly examine the fundamental or core causes.

Supercharge Your Fishbone Diagram Analysis With ClickUp

While quick fixes might seem like an easy solution, they often lead to the same problems popping up again (a serious productivity killer).

This is where you’d need fishbone diagrams to solve these issues for good.

And when it comes to creating the perfect fishbone diagram, ClickUp’s the name of the game! It’s a wholesome project management platform that streamlines collaboration and visualization at every stage of your work.

Give ClickUp a try for free and take your fishbone diagram game to the next level!

Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.

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