---
name: fishbone-diagram
description: Use when asked about a "fishbone diagram" for root-cause analysis — the same technique as a cause-and-effect diagram (see cause-and-effect-diagram), named for its fish-skeleton shape, also called an Ishikawa diagram (see ishikawa-diagram).
---

# Fishbone Diagram

A "fishbone diagram" is the same technique as a
[[cause-and-effect-diagram]] — named for its fish-skeleton shape:
the problem or effect at the head, with candidate cause categories
branching off the spine like bones. See [[cause-and-effect-diagram]]
for the technique covered in full depth (the 6M cause categories,
running the brainstorming process, and common pitfalls) — this entry
exists because "fishbone diagram" is one of three common names for the
identical tool, alongside "cause-and-effect diagram" and
[[ishikawa-diagram]].

## Why the name varies

All three names describe the same technique, developed by Kaoru
Ishikawa: "cause-and-effect diagram" names it by function, "fishbone
diagram" names it by visual shape, and "Ishikawa diagram" names it after
its creator. None implies a different method or a different set of
pitfalls — apply exactly the discipline [[cause-and-effect-diagram]]
describes regardless of which name a team or document happens to use.

## Learn more

- [[cause-and-effect-diagram]] for this technique in full depth — the three names are interchangeable.
- [[ishikawa-diagram]] for the same technique under its inventor's name.