Get Granular With Fishbone Method

It’s Monday morning, and your team is staring at you like you just asked them to solve world hunger by lunchtime. The quarterly report is late (again), sales are in free fall, and someone just used the last coffee pod. 

It’s a nightmare scenario, I know, but the best way to resolve it is to pick apart the issues till everything’s bare (Fish)bones.

The Fishbone diagram, (a.k.a. Ishikawa Method) is very common in manufacturing and product development. It’s used to map out operations pinpoint where things might go wrong, and figure out what resources we'll need and when. 

Think of the fishbones as the major suspects in your mystery. These are all of the factors that contribute to the manufacturing or development line.

Common categories are People, Processes, Materials, Machines, Measurement, and Environment—but feel free to add your own. 

You can even add a bone called "Murphy’s Law" for all the unexpected disasters (looking at you, unwanted and poorly timed software updates).

Start brainstorming under each category.

Under People, write down things like “staff shortages” and “lack of training.”

Under Processes, it could be “no clear project timelines” and “too many approvals.” Before you know it, you’ll have enough bones to slowly pick away at.

Once you have your main categories, start adding branches to each bone.

Going by my previous examples, the new branches could be… People: “Too many meetings” or “nobody reads emails. I like to think of this step as gossiping about your own process. 

Why are the materials delayed? Because the vendor is slow. 

Why is the vendor slow? Because no one told them we needed expedited shipping. 

Why didn’t anyone tell them? Because someone in purchasing was on vacation.

This is where you uncover the real dirt. Don’t be afraid to air your dirty laundry.

The Fishbone Diagram is judgment-free—well, mostly.

But of course, not all bones are created equal. Once you have your skeleton, step back and highlight the most likely culprits. I like to use sticky notes for this step so you can move ideas around like pieces on a chessboard.

At one point, you’ll realize what your exact problems are. Prioritize causes that show up in multiple categories. These are often the big, juicy problems worth fixing first.

Assign tasks, set deadlines, and—most importantly—make someone accountable.

We all know that person boss who loves saying “I’ll circle back to this,” which is corporate code for “I’ll forget about this immediately.” Don’t be that person.

Instead, find that person and try to fix their shortcomings. Write down your instructions like you’re explaining them to a five-year-old. If they’re too complicated, simplify.

So, the next time you’re faced with a business problem that feels bigger than a blue whale, grab a marker and draw yourself a fish. It might just be the lifeboat your team needs.

And hey, even if it doesn’t work, at least you’ll have a cool diagram to impress your boss.

You’re welcome.