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NEEDS ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE BASE

FISHBONEDIAGRAMS
PURPOSE
Thefishbonediagramisacauseandeffectdiagramthatcanbeusedtoidentifythepotential(oractual) cause(s)foraperformanceproblem.Fishbonediagramsprovideastructureforagroupsdiscussionaround thepotentialcausesoftheproblem.

NEEDSASSESSMENTAPPLICATIONS
Fishbonediagramsareoftenusedinneedsassessmenttoassistinillustratingand/orcommunicatingthe relationshipsamongseveralpotential(oractual)causesofaperformanceproblem.Likewise,these graphicalrepresentationsofrelationshipsbetweenneeds(i.e.,discrepanciesbetweendesiredandactual results)offeryouapragmatictoolforbuildingasystemofperformanceimprovementinterventions(for instance,acombinationofmentoring,jobaids,training,motivation,newexpectations)aroundtheoften complexrelationshipsfoundacrosspotential(oractual)causes.

ADVANTAGESANDDISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES
Fishbonediagramspermitathoughtfulanalysisthatavoidsoverlookinganypossiblerootcausesfora need. Thefishbonetechniqueiseasytoimplementandcreatesaneasytounderstandvisualrepresentationof thecauses,categoriesofcauses,andtheneed. Byusingafishbonediagram,youareabletofocusthegrouponthebigpictureastopossiblecauses orfactorsinfluencingtheproblem/need. Evenaftertheneedhasbeenaddressed,thefishbonediagramshowsareasofweaknessthatonce exposedcanberectifiedbeforecausingmoresustaineddifficulties.

DISADVANTAGES
Thesimplicityofafishbonediagramcanbebothitsstrengthanditsweakness.Asaweakness,the simplicityofthefishbonediagrammaymakeitdifficulttorepresentthetrulyinterrelatednatureof problemsandcausesinsomeverycomplexsituations. Unlessyouhaveanextremelylargespaceonwhichtodrawanddevelopthefishbonediagram,you mayfindthatyouarenotabletoexplorethecauseandeffectrelationshipsinasmuchdetailasyou wouldliketo.

WBI EVALUATION GROUP (2007)

NEEDS ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE BASE

GENERALPROCEDURES
1. Identifygapsbetweentheresults(i.e.,performance)thatarerequiredforthesuccessfulaccomplishment ofyourprograms/projectsresultschain(i.e.,logicframe)andcurrentachievementstodate. 2. Generateaclear,concisestatementoftheneed(s).Makesurethateveryoneinthegroupagreeswiththe needasitisstated.Forexample,theapplicationofmodernagriculturaltechniquesamongthe populationisat25%andtheaimofyourprogram/projectisfor75%ofthepopulationtousemodern techniques(leavingyouwithagaporneedof50%). 3. Usingalongsheetofpaper,drawalinehorizontallyalongthepage.Thislinewillbethespineofthe fish.Writetheneedalongthespine,onthelefthandside. 4. Identifytheoverarchingcategoriesofcausesoftheneed.Brainstormingisoftenaneffectivetechnique foridentifyingthecategoriesofcauses.Foreachcategoryofcauses,drawabonealineata45degree anglefromthespineofthefish.Labeleachspine(seeFigure1). Figure1:ABasicFishboneDiagram
Need (gap in results) Details Why
se au Details Why C se au C

Details Why

Details Why
se us Ca e se au Ca

Details Why

Cause
s aill ta De W h hy

5. Havethegroupbrainstormtoidentifythefactorsthatmaybeaffectingthecauseand/ortheneed.For eachcategoryofcauses,thegroupshouldbeasking;Whyisthishappening?Addeachreasonwhy tothediagram,clusteredaroundthemajorcausecategoryitinfluences. 6. RepeattheprocedureforaskingWhyisthishappeningforeacheffect,untilthequestionyieldsno moremeaningfulanswers(seeFigure2).

WBI EVALUATION GROUP (2007)

NEEDS ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE BASE


7. Whenthegrouphascometotheconsensusthatthediagramcontainsanadequateamountof information,analyzethediagram.Inparticular,lookforcausesthatareappearinginmorethanone sectionofthediagram. 8. Circleanythingthatseemstobearootcausefortheneed.Prioritizetherootcausesanddecidetotake action.Thisactionmayinvolvefurtherinvestigatingtherootcauses. Figure2:AnAnnotatedFishboneDiagram
ym r ge na a ion

Manager is too busy


t or pp su

pr

s es of

Focus on immediate problems

t No

d ire qu re

Not a priority
e ur ult C

t n es do

Learning Plans Not Developed


No

k nt nt Do Do

WBI EVALUATION GROUP (2007)

r ar da nd t s ta ed ed diiz rm f fo

w w no w w ho

Not standardized by HR

Lack of training
n ke ak Ta n on tio t ta iien or fo of to o ou

NEEDS ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE BASE

TIPSFORSUCCESS
Makesurethatthereisconsensusinthegroupaboutboththeneedandthecharacteristicsofthe causestatementbeforebeginningtheprocessofbuildingthefishbonediagram. Ifappropriate,youcangraftbranchesthatdonotcontainalotofinformationontootherbranches. Likewise,youcansplitbranchesthathavetoomuchinformationintotwoormorebranchesasyougo. Makeparsimonioususeofwordswhilepopulatingthefishbonediagram.Onlyuseasmanywordsas necessarytodescribethecauseoreffect.

REFERENCESANDRESOURCES
Gupta,K.,Sleezer,C.M.,&RussEft,D.F.(2007).APracticalGuidetoNeedsAssessment.Pfeiffer

WEBSITES
UseaFishboneDiagramtohelpattackcomplexproblems(fromTechRepublic): http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/510010878_116092236.html?tag=nl.e053 CauseAnalysisTools(fromAmericanSocietyforQuality;hasanexampleofafishbonediagram): http://www.asq.org/learnaboutquality/causeanalysistools/overview/fishbone.html TheFishboneDiagram(fromSixSigma;hastemplatesformakingfishbonediagramsinMicrosoftWord andMicrosoftExcel): http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/t000827.asp

WBI EVALUATION GROUP (2007)

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