With the Cause And Effect template, you can diagram the variables that lead to a particular outcome. Cause and effect diagrams are also called fishbone diagrams, after their skeletal appearance, or Ishikawa diagrams, after their inventor, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, a quality control statistician. They represent a different paradigm from a flowchart, in which one step leads to another. A fishbone diagram shows input from numerous sources, as Figure 9-13 shows, which makes it a great tool for the following:
To study a problem or issue and determine its root cause
To show that success will require efforts from several departments
To identify areas for data collection
To show why a process isn’t running smoothly or producing the desired results
When you open the Cause And Effect Diagram template, Visio 2007 creates a page that includes a blank fishbone diagram: an effect shape (the spine), and four category boxes, as Figure 9-14 shows. You can add, remove, or reposition the category boxes, and you can add as many cause shapes as you need.
Inside Out: Categories of a fishbone diagramVisio 2007 creates a fishbone diagram with space for four categories, because fishbone methodology suggests these categories: materials, machines, methods, and manpower (the four M’s); provisions, people, place, and procedures (the four P’s); or surroundings, suppliers, systems, and skills (the four S’s). |
Follow these steps to create a fishbone diagram:
Align Left
Align Right
Note
If your text doesn’t fit, try realigning the paragraph. Visio 2007 centers the text by default, but depending on the direction in which the shape points, you can choose Align Left or Align Right from the Formatting toolbar to move text closer to the line.
Fishbone diagrams can quickly become crowded or cluttered. Actually, this is a good sign. Because each bone or rib represents a related idea, a diagram with many branches explores many possibilities. However, to make the diagram easier to read, be judicious with the label wording. Use text to state problems or issues, not solutions.
If long labels overlap other shapes, try one of the following:
Click Align Left or Align Right on the Formatting toolbar to move the text closer to its line.
Add line breaks. Select the Text tool, click in the text, and then press Ctrl+Enter.
Text Tool
Effect, category, and cause shapes are all examples of 1-D shapes. For details about working with text on 1-D shapes, see the section titled “Adding and Repositioning Text on Lines and Connectors” in Chapter 4, “Adding Text to Shapes and Diagrams.”
To move cause and category shapes in your diagram, drag the line by its middle, rather than its endpoints, to move the entire shape without changing the line’s angle. When you drag a shape that has other shapes glued to it, the shape you drag moves, and the connected shapes stretch to remain attached. To move an entire branch, select all the shapes, as Figure 9-15 shows. To lengthen or shorten lines, drag an endpoint.