A cause and effect diagram can help you discover causal relationships between the factors in your business and a desired or undesired outcome. The free printable cause and effect diagram template created for today’s post is also known as a fishbone diagram, which was originally conceived by Japanese professor Kauro Ishikawa, back in 1968. This diagram is one of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality, along with the check sheet, control chart, histogram, Pareto chart, scatter diagram, and flow chart.
Cause and Effect Diagram Templates
To download a diagram template, click on the template image. It’s PDF version will load in your browser. These templates are free for personal use, educational use, and internal business use. Commercial use is strictly prohibited.
The first cause and effect diagram template has six main causes leading to an outcome: People, Method, Measurement, Machine, Environment, and Materials. Beneath each cause, write specific factors within the category that helped cause the outcome. If you would like to see a completed diagram example to help you get started, take a look at the cause and effect diagram example at the bottom of the page.
Next we have the same chart, but this time the main causes or categories have been left blank, allowing you to choose the main factors that contributed to the outcome.
Another common set of causes are: Equipment, Process, People, Materials, Environment, and Management. This Cause and Effect Diagram Template contains those factors.
Here are a few more variations of the chart. The first lets you write in 4 specific factors per main cause, and the second has blank space beneath each main cause.
Cause and Effect Diagram Example
Here is a cause and effect diagram example, where the main factors contributing to the problem are: People, Method, Measurement, Machine, Environment, and Materials.
