Fishbone Diagrams

A Fishbone diagram is a structured brainstorming tool designed to help improvement teams discover potential root causes for an undesirable effect or problem. 

In KaiNexus, certain Templates will have Fishbone enabled, allowing you to add a Fishbone diagram to Items created from the Template. 

After adding a Fishbone to an Item, you can define the problem, name categories, and add causes as text or linked Items. You can also create Items from the diagram, move causes between categories, apply highlight colors or strikethroughs, and vote on causes.

Example of a Fishbone diagram in KaiNexus

Who can create and manage an Item's Fishbone diagram?

To manage an Item's Fishbone diagram, you must have permission to view and edit the Item.

Only the following people can view an Item:

• Anyone on the Item's Team.
• Potentially anyone on the parent's Team.
• If the Item is not private and not in the New status, anyone with the "View" permission for Items in its Location(s).
• If the Item is private, anyone with the "View Private" permission for Items in its Location(s).
• If the Item is in the New status and is not private, anyone with the "View New" permission for Items in its Location(s).

Only the following people can edit an Item:

• Anyone on the Item's Team except for Followers or Participants.
• Anyone with the "Edit" permission for Items in this Location(s).
• For Items using the Standard Team Type, anyone with the "Assign (Which Items)" permission for Items in this Location(s).

Add a Fishbone diagram to an Item

There are two ways you can add a Fishbone diagram to an Item. 

Your first option is to add the Fishbone diagram directly on it's Panel. To do this: 

• Locate the Fishbone Panel. Its location will change depending on the configuration of the Template. 
• Hover over the Fishbone Panel. A + icon will appear. 
  
• Select the + icon. 
• In the resulting drop-down menu, select Fishbone. A Fishbone diagram will appear in the Panel. 

You can also add the Fishbone diagram by using the Add button at the top of the Item. To do this: 

• Select + Add in the top right corner of the page.
• Select Fishbone in the resulting drop-down menu. A blank diagram will appear in the Fishbone Panel of the Item. How your organization configured the Item's Template determines its exact placement.

Configuration Options for Fishbone diagrams

Fishbone diagrams can be customized for different Templates. These options determine how a diagram appears and which Templates are available when creating Items from it:

• Choose the number of Cause Categories, up to eight per diagram.
• Provide default category names and prevent users from changing them.
• Choose colors for the problem and individual categories.
• Have a diagram appear automatically when an Item is created.
• Populate the problem from a Text Field or Text Area when the diagram is first added.
• Limit the Templates available when creating Items or converting text causes to Items.

Editing a Fishbone diagram 

Add a Problem to the Fishbone

Select Add Problem at the right end of the diagram.

• Enter the problem you want to solve. The problem is limited to 250 characters.
• Enter an optional description. It appears as a tooltip when you hover over the problem.
• Select Save.

Add Cause Categories to the Fishbone

Categories group related causes on the diagram's bones. If category names have not been provided for you, select Add Category at the end of a bone.

• Enter the category name.
• Enter an optional description. It appears as a tooltip when you hover over the category.
• Select Save.

Edit Cause Categories 

Select the category name you want to change.

• Update its name or description.
• Select Save.

Add Cause Rows

A Cause Row represents a specific potential cause within a category. You can enter a cause as text, link an existing Item, or create a new Item. You won't be able to add a new cause if the Item is complete or archived. 

Item causes display their Template icon and a colored status indicator.

Select Add Cause on the appropriate bone. 

• On the Text tab:
  
  
  • Enter the cause in Cause Name.
  • Enter an optional description. It appears as a tooltip when you hover over the cause.
  • Select Save, or select Save & Add Another to immediately add another cause to this category.
• On the Item tab:
  
  
  • To create an Item, select Create and choose a Template. If only one Template is available, its creation window opens directly.
    • Complete the Item's information. The Parent field defaults to the Item containing the Fishbone.
    • Create the Item. It is added as a child of the current Item and selected in Choose Existing.
  • To link an existing Item, search for and select it in Choose Existing. Only Items you can view are available. You can also use the search icon in this field to open Item Search.
  • Enter an optional description for the cause. It appears as a tooltip when you hover over the cause.
  • Select Save, or select Save & Add Another to immediately add another cause to this category.

Edit Cause Rows

To edit a text cause, select its name, update the information in the resulting window, and select Save.

To edit an Item cause, you can:

• Select the Item's name to open the Item and edit it directly.
• Select the ellipsis icon, then select Edit to update the cause's description or replace the linked Item. When you're finished, select Save.

Convert a Text Cause to an Item

You can turn a text cause into an Item without entering its title again.

• Select the ellipsis icon on the text cause.
• Select Convert to Item and choose a Template from the submenu, if one appears.
• Complete the Item's information. Its title is populated with the cause's text, and its Parent defaults to the Item containing the Fishbone.
• Create the Item. The new Item replaces the text cause on the diagram and is added as a child of the current Item.

Remove Cause Rows

Select a cause's ellipsis icon, then select Remove. You can also right-click the cause and select Remove.

To remove a cause from its editing window, select Remove in that window.

Move Cause Rows

Drag causes to change their order within a category or move them to another category.

• Use the grip icon on the left side of a cause to drag it.
• Move it to the desired location. Dashed boxes show the available drop positions.
• Release it in a dashed box.

Highlight or strikethrough a Cause Row

Use highlight colors and strikethroughs to visually distinguish causes. Everyone viewing the diagram can see these changes.

Select a cause's ellipsis icon or right-click the cause. 

• To highlight it, select a color square under Highlight. Choose yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, or orange.
• To clear its highlight, select the last square, which displays the clear icon.
• To draw a line through its text, select Strikethrough.
• To remove the line, select Remove Strikethrough. 

Vote on a Cause

Anyone who can edit the Item can vote on its Fishbone causes, even if they are not on the Item's Team.

Select the cause's ellipsis icon or right-click it.

• Select Vote. A vote indicator and total appear on the cause.
• To withdraw your vote, open the cause's menu and select Remove Vote. The total decreases by one. If no votes remain, the indicator disappears.

You can vote on any number of causes, but only once per cause. Hover over the vote count to see who voted. The tooltip lists up to ten users and indicates how many additional users voted.

Automatically Refresh the Fishbone diagram

Auto Refresh keeps the Fishbone up to date when other users make changes to the diagram.

Open the Item's Fishbone tab or expand its Fishbone Panel. The Auto Refresh checkbox appears in the bottom-right corner and is selected by default.

 

• A green indicator means Auto Refresh is actively checking for changes.
• After five minutes of inactivity, Auto Refresh pauses and an amber indicator appears. Interact with the page or return to the browser tab to resume.
• Clear the Auto Refresh checkbox to turn it off. Select it again to resume automatic updates.

Auto Refresh updates changes made to the Fishbone diagram while it is visible in the active browser window. It does not update other Item content or reflect changes to a linked Item's title, status, or viewing permissions.

 

Remove or Clear a Fishbone diagram

To remove or clear the Fishbone diagram from an Item, hover over the top right of the Panel.

Select the ellipse icon. 

• Select Delete in the resulting dropdown to remove the Fishbone from the Item. 
  • Check the I understand this cannot be undone checkbox.
  • Select Delete.
  • The Fishbone diagram will be removed from the Item Work Panel. If a Panel or tab were added to that Item following the diagram's creation, it would also be removed.
• Select Clear in the resulting dropdown to remove all information from the Item. 
  • Check the I understand this cannot be undone checkbox.
  • Select Clear. 
  • The Cause Rows, editable Cause Categories, and the problem will be cleared from the Fishbone. 

Filter Items with Fishbone diagrams

You can filter Items based on whether they have a Fishbone diagram added to them. This feature comes in handy when you need to retrieve lists of improvements or projects that do or do not have a Fishbone diagram attached to them. This helps you verify whether Fishbone diagrams are being correctly integrated into your processes.

To filter for Items that have a Fishbone diagram added to them:

• Open the Item Filter. 
  • If you are using the Items section, open the Item Filter by selecting the filter icon. 
  • If you are using an Item List Card, open the Item Filter by selecting the ellipse icon and selecting Edit. 
• Create a new rule with the "Additional" criteria. 
  
• Set your logic:
  • Select 'is any of" to include Items with Fishbone diagrams in your List. 
  • Select "is not any of" to include Items without a Fishbone diagram in your List.
• Choose "Has Fishbone" in the drop-down of additional filter criteria. 

• Select Save. 

Export Fishbone diagram Data

Fishbone data can be included when you:

• Save an Item to XLSX

• Export an Item List to XLSX

• Retrieve Item data as JSON through the API

XLSX exports

When an exported Item has a Fishbone added, the XLSX file automatically includes a sheet named [Template Name] - Fishbone.

The sheet lists causes and includes the following columns:

• ID and Item Name: The ID and name of the Item containing the Fishbone diagram.
• Problem and Problem Description: The Fishbone's problem and its description.
• Category and Category Description: The cause's category and its description.
• Cause and Cause Description: The cause's title and description. 
• Item: Indicates whether the cause is an Item. Displays TRUE for an Item cause and FALSE for a text cause.
• Link: The URL of the linked Item. Blank for text causes.
• Votes: The number of votes the cause has received. Blank if the cause has no votes.

If a linked cause is a private Item you cannot view, its Cause and Link values display Private.

JSON exports through the API

Add the &includeFishbone parameter to an Item or Item List JSON API call to include Fishbone data for Items with diagrams added.

The data includes the problem and its description, categories and their descriptions, and each category's causes. Cause data includes names, descriptions, whether the cause is an Item, Item links, and vote counts.