Cause and effect analysis was developed in the 1960s by Kaoru Ishikawa to help identify the root causes of problems. It uses a diagram called an Ishikawa or fishbone diagram to map the potential causes for an effect or problem. The technique helps conduct a thorough analysis by considering all possible causes across major contributing factors. The steps involve identifying the problem or effect, determining key factors, brainstorming potential causes within each factor, and analyzing the diagram to investigate the most likely causes.

1. Cause and Effect Analysis
Amit Shrivastava
Hyderabad, India.

2. History
 Cause and Effect Analysis was devised by
professor Kaoru Ishikawa, a pioneer of
quality management, in the 1960s. The
technique was then published in his 1990
book, "Introduction to Quality Control.“
 The diagrams that we create, are known
as Ishikawa Diagrams or Fishbone
Diagrams

3. This is used to:
 Discover the root cause of a problem
 Uncover bottlenecks in the process
 Identify where and why the process isn't
working

4. Key Points
The technique uses a diagram-based
approach for thinking through all of the
possible causes of a problem. This helps to
carry out a thorough analysis of the
situation.

5. Steps to use this Tool
 Identify the Problems
 Work out the Major Factors Involved
 Identify Possible Causes
 Analyze the Diagram

6. Step 1: Identify the Problem
 Write down the exact problem we face,
i.e., the “EFFECT" to be diagrammed
 Draw a box around the effect with an
arrow heading to it
EFFECT

7. Step 2: Work Out the Major Factors
Involved
 Identify the factors that may be the part of
the problem
 Write down all the factors on the diagram
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8. Step 3: Identify Possible Causes
 For each of the factors, brainstorm
possible causes of the problem that may
be related to the factor
 Show these possible causes coming off
the "bones" of the diagram

10. Step 4: Analyze the Diagram
 We have a diagram, that shows all of the
possible causes of the problem that we
can think of
 We can now investigate the most likely
causes further