Fishbone Diagram Tool
Gather the possible causes of a problem across the 6M categories and watch the Ishikawa diagram build as you type. Share it as a link or export it as a PDF. No signup, your data stays in the browser.
Describe the problem whose causes you are looking for. It sits at the head of the fish, and every cause feeds into it.
People
Skills, training, experience, fatigue
Machine
Equipment condition, calibration, wear, maintenance
Material
Raw material, supplier variation, storage
Method
Work instructions, process parameters, sequence
Measurement
Gauge accuracy, calibration, inspection method
Environment
Temperature, humidity, lighting, cleanliness
What is a fishbone diagram?
The fishbone diagram, also called the Ishikawa or cause and effect diagram, was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa. It groups the possible causes of a problem into categories so a team searches broadly instead of locking onto one guess too early. The problem sits at the head, and the categories form the bones.
In manufacturing the six categories are common: People, Machine, Material, Method, Measurement and Environment, known as the 6Ms. They are a starting frame, not a rigid template. The goal is a structured list of candidates you can then take deeper, for example with the 5 Whys method.
How to use the tool
Name the problem
Enter the problem or effect at the top, specific enough that others recognise it.
Work through the categories
For each of the 6M categories, ask which factors could be contributing to the problem.
Collect causes
Write every possible cause under the category it belongs to. Quantity before judgement, sort later.
Spot the patterns
See where causes cluster or where a category stays conspicuously empty. That steers the investigation.
Share and go deeper
Copy the diagram, share the link or export a PDF, then take the strongest causes further.
For the 6M categories in detail, common mistakes and worked examples, see the guide to the Ishikawa diagram and the 5 Whys tool.
Collecting causes is the start, not the finish
A diagram changes nothing until someone acts. Mobile2b turns findings into assigned corrective actions and tracks them to closure across your plant, on premise if you need it.
See how it works