Turn a Fishbone Into a Testable Cause
Use a cause-and-effect diagram to generate causes, then select one to validate.
Five delayed shipments triggered 34 possible causes and no decision. Fishbone: broaden possible causes, then validate the highest-leverage suspect with evidence. Stopping at the diagram creates the illusion of analysis without changing the process. Define effect Effect: shipments leave after the 5 p.m. carrier cutoff. The fish head must be specific enough to investigate. Group causes Method: unclear cutoff; Machine: printer downtime; Material: missing labels; People: late approvals; Measurement: no release timestamp. Categories prevent the team from staying in one favorite theory. Validate suspect Compare release timestamps with late shipments; 68% were released after 4:40 p.m. Evidence turns a possible…
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