Free Cause Effect Diagram Maker — Find Causes

See it work

Cause and effect diagram examples.

Same tool, four requests. Every drawing below is a real render.

What you type

Create an 8D fishbone diagram for a recurring nonconformance using team, problem description, containment, root cause, corrective actions, and prevention categories.

Then tryAdd an owner for corrective actions.Add a control-plan review under Prevention.

Fishbone (Ishikawa): 8D root-cause analysis

Fishbone (Ishikawa) · Ishikawa (1968) cause-and-effect · schematex-fishbone

Rather start from a finished drawing? Browse 24 fishbone diagram templates →

The drawing

What a cause and effect diagram is.

A cause and effect diagram shows the possible reasons behind a defined outcome. It is also known as an Ishikawa or fishbone diagram because categories branch toward the effect like bones.

The format makes assumptions visible. Start with a specific effect, choose categories, then add observable causes and sub-causes that the team can verify.

Standard: Ishikawa (1968) cause-and-effect
Engine: schematex-fishbone
Editable: Double-click text, drag nodes
Export: SVG · PNG · PDF

Fishbone (Ishikawa): What a cause and effect diagram is

Who uses it

Who uses cause and effect diagrams.

Operations teams

Explore psychological, environmental, program, social, and equipment factors behind low participation.

Facility managers

Identify layout, storage, equipment, and maintenance causes of an inefficient shared space.

Maintenance teams

Trace people, equipment, procedures, parts, tracking, and environment behind repeated failures.

How it works

How to make a cause and effect diagram in three steps.

Describe it

One paragraph is enough to start.

“Create an 8D fishbone diagram for a recurring nonconformance using team, problem description, containment, root cause, corrective actions, and prevention categories.”