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have you ever faced a project issue
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where finding the root cause seemed like
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searching for a needle in a hay stack hi
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everyone I'm Andrew from pm aspirant and
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if you're new here welcome to the
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channel where we help you master project
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management skills and certifications if
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you haven't already make sure to hit
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that subscribe button for more
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insightful content on project management
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today we're going to dive into an
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essential tool for problem solving the
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cause and effect diagram also known as
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the fishbone diagram or ishakawa diagram
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the this diagram is a very helpful tool
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especially when you're trying to
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identify the root cause of a problem the
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cause and effect diagram is a visual
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tool used for root cause analysis it's
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designed to help project teams
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systematically identify sort and display
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possible causes of a problem or effect
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imagine a fish's skeleton the problem is
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placed at the head and the possible
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causes are laid out as branches along
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the spine the goal is to focus on the
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underlying causes rather than just
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dealing with the symptoms of an issue
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in project management we often face
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complex challenges where there are
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multiple contributing factors the
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fishbone diagram helps us disect these
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complexities by visually organizing
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potential causes into categories it's a
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great tool to use in brainstorming
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sessions where you can collaborate with
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your team to identify all possible
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causes of a problem now you might wonder
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when this diagram comes into play in
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project management it's commonly used
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during the plan quality management
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manage quality and control quality
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processes these are all part of the
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project quality management knowledge
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area and the Ishikawa diagram is most
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useful when you're trying to solve
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complex problems that might have several
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factors it's particularly effective
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during brainstorming sessions where team
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members come together to explore all
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possible causes of an issue so this is
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where the project manager plays a
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critical role facilitating the session
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encouraging diverse perspectives and
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ensuring that all potential causes are
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considered let's break down the
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structure of the ishakawa diagram as I
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mentioned earlier the problem is written
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at the head of the fish and the main
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causes Branch off the spine these causes
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are grouped into categories which are
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tailored to the type of project you're
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dealing with for instance in
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manufacturing related projects you might
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use the 6 M's to categorize
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causes Manpower or people methods or
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materials Machinery or
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equipment measurement or metric
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environment if you're working on a
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service related or non-manufacturing
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project you may use different categories
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such as policies procedures people and
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systems the flexibility of the Ishikawa
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diagram is one of its strengths it can
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be adapted to fit almost any type of
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problem now let's walk through the steps
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to create your own Ishikawa
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diagram one Define the problem start by
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clearly defining the problem you're
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facing and place it at the head of the
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diagram be as specific as
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possible a vague problem definition will
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Solutions two identify major
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causes next identify the main categories
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of causes these will be the larger
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branches coming off the spine of the
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diagram use categories relevant to your
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project to ensure you cover all
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areas three brainstorm possible causes
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with your categories in place it's time
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to brainstorm possible causes es for
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each category ask yourself and your team
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what could be contributing to this
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problem in this area these causes will
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be represented as smaller branches off
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categories four break down sub
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causes don't stop at just one level of
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causes for each cause you identify dig
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deeper to uncover potential sub causes
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keep going until you feel you've reached
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the root cause of the issue five analyze
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prioritize once your diagram is complete
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it's time to analyze it look for the
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most likely root causes contributing to
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the problem while the Ishikawa diagram
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helps identify potential causes it
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doesn't prioritize them so further
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analysis may be needed you can use tools
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like a Paro chart to determine which
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causes to address first as a project
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manager your role in this process is
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crucial not only do you need to
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facilitate the brainstorming session but
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you also need to ensure that the team
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considers a wide range of possibilities
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encouraging collaboration in different
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perspectives will lead to a more
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analysis once the root causes have been
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identified it's up to you to interpret
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the diagram and develop strategies to
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eliminate or mitigate the identified
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causes this kind of structured problem
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solving is a key skill for any
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successful project manager so where
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exactly can you apply this tool in
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project management here are a few common
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uses problem solving it's perfect for
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identifying root causes of issues or
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defects in products or
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processes quality control the ishaka
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diagram helps you explore the factors
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that lead to deviations from expected
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standards risk identification by
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analyzing different contributing factors
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you can also identify potential risks in
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your project process Improvement it's a
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great tool for determining
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inefficiencies in a process and finding
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ways to optimize it what makes this
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diagram so powerful is its ability to
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provide a comprehensive analysis it
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encourages teams to explore all possible
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CA es in a structured way plus it
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visually organizes these causes making
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it easier to communicate findings to
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stakeholders most importantly it keeps
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the team focused on the root cause of a
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problem ensuring that you're addressing
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the issue at its core rather than just
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putting out fires on the
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surface if you found this video helpful
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don't forget to like And subscribe to PM
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aspirant for more project management
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tips and tools to help you succeed your
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support will enable us to create more
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quality project management videos
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let me know in the comments below how
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you've used the Ishikawa diagram in your
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projects and feel free to ask any
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questions you might have next you may
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want to learn more about Paro chart on
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prioritizing issues thank you for
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watching I'll see you in the next video
