Discovering the cause of an issue

Cause and Effect (or Fishbone) Diagram
The cause and effect diagram is an excellent way to get colleagues thinking about the cause of an issue or problem (i.e. why this is occurring). This is an important step in planning innovation as it is important to be able to identify the root cause of a problem, as only then may you be able to fully demonstrate the importance of your innovation to your service. The cause and effect diagram helps display the relationship of the causes to the effect or outcome being observed, and helps colleagues visualise and identify potential areas for improvement.How to use cause and effect analysis
- Begin by defining and writing the effect you wish to change on the right hand side of a page (You may find it helpful to use a large piece of paper, mounted on a wall or whiteboard). Draw a box around the effect.
- Draw a horizontal line across the page, starting from the box and moving to your left, across the width of the page.
- Decide on categories of the causes. Some easy predefined ones are: Equipment, Environment, Materials, Methods and people.
- Draw diagonal line above and below the horizontal line to create fishbones. Label each fishbone with one of the categories in step 3.
- Under each category, compile a list of possible causes that contribute to the overall effect. Draw additional branch bones to the causes to show secondary causes. (A helpful technique in developing the causes is to continually ask ‘why?’ until you have reached an appropriate level of detail. This can normally be achieved by asking ‘why?’ five times.

How to use a Driver Diagram

Discussion
Use the comments section to propose areas for improvement within your workplace and critique these with other learners. For each suggestion, you may wish to consider, what is the aim, what are the drivers behind the proposal and have all potential causes been considered.Understanding Innovation in the Healthcare Sciences

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