Fishbone diagram for root cause analysis

by Ali Waleed Abbas

Uncertainty is an essential part of project management and is inevitable in both projects and organizations. Uncertainty is typically present during the entire lifetime of a project and is constantly changing as the project moves on. Dealing with uncertainty throughout the entire project is paramount in order to achieve the goals set for the project within scope, budget, time and quality constraints. In practice it is nearly impossible to eliminate uncertainty – instead, the goal should be to reduce uncertainty in the different project phases through effective risk management. One of the many different methods that can be of use in this endeavour is a root cause analysis, in which the Fishbone diagram can be utilized. The purpose of this article is to shine light upon the idea behind a Fishbone diagram, when it can be applied, how it can be applied and the practical limitations of the tool.

The Ishikawa diagram, also called Fishbone diagram, is a cause-and-effect tool that can be used to identify possible causes of a problem by looking into the different aspects of a given problem. The major benefit of this method is that it is a structured and organized approach to brainstorming and analyzing possible causes to a problem, which makes it a very valuable tool for not only risk identification, but also risk management in broader view. Besides identifying the risks, the Fishbone diagram can in some cases be utilized to solve problems and eliminate identified risks, which in return reduces the uncertainty in a project.