Cause and Effect Diagram

QI Essentials Toolkit: Cause and Effect Diagram A common challenge for improvement teams is determining what changes they can test to improve a process. A cause and effect diagram is an organizational tool that helps teams explore and display the many causes contributing to a certain effect or outcome. It graphically displays the relationship of the causes to the effect and to each other, helping teams identify areas for improvement. The cause and effect diagram is also known as an Ishikawa diagram, for its creator, or a fishbone diagram, for its resemblance to the bones of a fish. Teams list and group causes under the categories of Materials, Methods, Equipment, Environment, and People. IHI’s QI Essentials Toolkit includes the tools and templates you need to launch and manage a successful improvement project. Each of the nine tools in the toolkit includes a short description, instructions, an example, and a blank template. NOTE: Before filling out the template, first save the file on your computer. Then open and use that version of the tool. Otherwise, your changes will not be saved. Cause and Effect Flowchart Project Planning Form Diagram Histogram Run Chart & Control Chart Driver Diagram Pareto Chart Scatter Diagram Failure Modes and Effects PDSA Worksheet Analysis (FMEA) O