How to Use Fishbone Diagram to Solve Business Problems

When you are running a business, it always gets hard to make decisions and solve your issues. Especially for start-ups and entrepreneurs, they have to work extra hard and not make the mistakes again. 

The cause and effect diagram, which is also known as the fishbone diagram, is one solution that can help with your business. Many people may not be aware of the fishbone diagram and how to use it effectively. Hopefully, this article will help you in utilizing it for your benefit.

Why is Fishbone Diagram Used?

Some start-up businesses do not reach the core of the problem after it has occurred. This way, it will be difficult for them to deal with it in the future, which affects them negatively. They may not be aware of the improvements that they need to keep going forward.

It is essential to analyze your problems to eradicate their reoccurrence. You can use the fishbone diagram for this purpose. It is called a fishbone diagram because its final look appears similar to a fishbone. This technique allows a person to analyze their business processes, perform creative thinking, and get to the right solution. 

Steps on How to Use the Tool;

When you face any business problem, you can use the fishbone diagram to evaluate them and solve them accordingly. Here are some steps on how to properly use this technique.

Figure Out The Problem:

The first and foremost step is to identify the issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. It would be best if you look at the problem and how it is affecting your business. Think about the possible reasons that can be causing it and which department of your business may be the cause of it. After identifying the problem, you can start drawing the diagram.

Identify the Causes of Your Problem:

All things have a cause behind their occurrence. After a problem has arisen, it is best to look for the reasons to treat it from the roots and prevent it from happening again. Map out all the possible reasons and analyze them properly. There can be many reasons, including people, materials, skills, systems, equipment, etc. You can add all the causes one by one on your fishbone diagram. 

Analyze the Sub-Causes:

The technique does not end with just finding the leading causes. You will also have to figure out all the things that are leading towards them. Finding the sub-causes can help you reach the roots of the problem and help fix it. 

You may be blaming your delivery man because of the late delivery without actually knowing what caused the issue. It may be because the production department failed to prepare the product on time leading to a flawed process. There can be multiple sub-causes for a single problem. Keep adding them to the diagram to analyze all the mistakes and faults.

Analyze the Diagram:

The final step is to analyze the problems after drawing them into the fishbone diagram. This way, you can adequately understand how to deal with your issues and that there can be many leading causes. You can conduct meetings with the responsible people and do projects that work towards eradicating these problems so that your business can run as smoothly as possible.