Fishbone Diagram: How to Find a Solution to a Problem and Improve Teamwork

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The team developed a new CRM system for an online store. According to a survey, customers liked the changes, but for some reason the indicators dropped by 1.5 times.

The management of the organization gathers everyone to discuss the situation. The marketer claims that the sales managers are not processing applications well enough. The managers, in turn, respond that the problem is in bad advertising. The employees begin to offer a variety of solutions: from new promotions to expanding the sales department.

One of the options should work. But it may also happen that the team does not see the real reason for the drop in indicators and starts implementing an idea that will not change the situation in any way.

In our course " Collaboration in a Professional Environment ", speaker Marina Kazantseva, a teacher at NRU ITMO, recommends analyzing the problem using the Ishikawa diagram in such cases. We will tell you more about this tool in the article.

The Ishikawa diagram is a method for visualizing the causes of a problem and finding a solution. The diagram itself resembles a fish skeleton: the "head" describes the problem, and each "bone" indicates the factors that influence the current situation.



How to Identify Factors: The Why Method
To identify the reasons, it is necessary to organize social media marketing service a brainstorming session with the team. Ishikawa recommends gathering those employees who understand the necessary business processes. For example, to discuss the CRM system, it is worth inviting a marketer, a copywriter, and a sales manager.

Brainstorming begins with the question: "Why did this problem happen?" - each participant should offer their own answer. These will be the key factors.

If necessary, you can ask an additional question "why?" to the key factors. Clarifying answers are second-level factors. Let's look at an example:

Why have sales figures dropped? - Because managers can't cope with the flow of requests.
Why can't they cope? - Because the department is short-staffed.
The question “why?” can be asked several times - up to the fourth or fifth level, until you come to the true reason.


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How to solve problems using factors
To solve the main problem in the "head", it is necessary to eliminate the causes in the "bones" that provoked this situation. It is better to start with small "bones" - these are factors from the second or third level. In our example - a shortage of employees. Then, from this list, first select those factors that can be changed with the help of the organization's resources. Then, prioritize the remaining ones and develop an action plan that will help cope with the difficulties.

It is important to note that the Ishikawa diagram is also used to analyze global problems in an organization. In this case, a change strategy is created for several years ahead.