Fishbone Diagram for Virtual Group Brainstorming

Virtual brainstorming is hard. It relies on people working together in sync. The team needs to be able to contribute an collaborate at the same time.

What is the Fishbone Diagram?

The fishbone diagram is a cause and effect brainstorming method. The fishbone diagram is also known as the Ishikawa diagram (named after its inventor, Japanese quality control expert Kaoru Ishikawa). It is easily one of the most effective tools to identify cause and effect when combined with the 5 whys. It helps people to quickly identify the root cause and stop guessing.

Other Names for Fishbone Diagram:

• Root Cause Analysis
• Cause and Effect Diagram
• Cause & Effect Mindmap
• Ishikawa diagram

Cause & Effect Mindmap for Software Development

The fishbone diagram can be considered as a cause and effect mindmap, as it groups possible areas of the problem. It then helps teams easily visualize where all the possible causes could be leading to the problem. To breakdown and get further causes using the 5 whys approach with the fishbone diagram is highly recommended.

Fishbone diagram template using Miro – The Cause and Effect Mindmap

How does a fishbone diagram work for software development?

The 3 steps to working on a fishbone diagram are as follows:

1. Create a problem statement as the fish head. What is the problem? How does the problem occur? When does the problem happen?
2. Set broad categories or areas do potential causes fall into (max 10). Possible categories for software products: Users, Software, Marketing, Integrations, Database
3. List out all of the individual causes for each category or area as the bones of the diagram

Use 5 Whys to systematically dig deeper and uncover new potential causes.

What do you do after the fishbone diagram? The 5 Whys

You have started by creating as many branches as you see fit all could be categories of the possible problem. The next step is to use the 5 whys to ask. The 5 whys help the team think of new causes. Then you ask why is this causing the problem and as you keep asking why you are creating links on the branch. It should come to a conclusion typically after 5 whys.

How do you make a fishbone diagram virtually?

Virtual brainstorming is hard. It relies on people working together in sync. You don’t have a whiteboard as you would normally have to have people openly put up postits and feel like they can actively contribute. Using Google Hangouts or zoom meetings are good but for a facilitator, it can be very difficult to squeeze ideas out of people. We previously discussed how you can use ice breakers for virtual meetings to get people engaged but what is the next step to continue engagement?

Check out for step by step instruction: https://pm-training.net/fishbone-diagram-virtual/