VISUAL TOOLS

What does it do? 

A Fishbone diagram is a way of identifying a pattern of conditions that can be said, as a whole, to have caused an event or situation to happen. It is a tool for causal analysis. It is, essentially, an Affinity diagram set within a causal context.

1. How do you make it?
2. Draw a horizontal line and at the right hand end, draw a box. Inside the box write the situation you want analysed.
3. Generate and capture all possible background details relating to this situation, using a Single bubble and Cluster. Again, you could also use sticky notes for this too.
4. Sort the words captured into groups, using the same process as outlined in the Affinity diagram
5. Draw a number of bones diagonally from the main horizontal line, to form the shape of a fishbone. There should be as many of the bones as there were groups identified in the Affinity diagram.
6. At the end of each of these diagonal bones draw a box and inside it write the word that best captures the meaning of the collection of words in that group (taken from the Affinity diagram).
7. Along each diagonal bone list the words captured in that group, until all words have been assigned
8. As an extension, you could decide to order the diagonal bones, or causal themes,  in a continuum of influence. The bone nearest the right hand side of the horizontal line can be considered to have the most influence. And each diagonal bone thereafter has decreasing influence, with the least influential set of conditions on the far left–hand side. Equally, you can also arrange each list along the diagonal bone as if that, too, is  a continuum with the word placed nearest the horizontal line being the most influential within that category. 

When do you use it?

A Fishbone is useful for:

• Identify the causes, or set of conditions, that lead to a given situation
• Plan, by reversing the time perspective, and identifying the set of conditions that need to be in place in order for a proposed situation to occur in the future.