Fishbone

Yes. Fishbone Analysis should usually be shown as a diagram, because it is a visual Root Cause Analysis tool. It is also called an Ishikawa Diagram or Cause-and-Effect Diagram. Your slide defines it as a visual tool for identifying possible causes of a specific problem.

Simple Fishbone Diagram Example

Problem:

Checkout crashes 40% of the time

                           People
               Not enough QA training
                    No reviewer assigned
                              \
                               \
Process ------------------------\ 
No mobile test checklist          \
No release approval step           \
                                  \
Tools ----------------------------->  PROBLEM:
Test automation missed mobile      Checkout crashes
No crash-monitoring tool           40% of the time
                                  /
Testing --------------------------/
Only happy-path tests
No stress / edge-case tests
                                 /
Definition of Done -------------/
AC checked, but mobile testing missing
Security/performance not checked
                                 /
Environment -------------------/
Different mobile browsers
Production data different from test data

How to explain it to students

“The fish head is the problem. The bones are major cause categories. Under each bone, we write possible causes. We are not choosing the final answer immediately. First, we brainstorm possible causes. Then we analyze which causes are most likely to be the real root cause.”

Cleaner classroom version

People --------\
Process --------\
Tools -----------> PROBLEM: Checkout crashes 40% of the time
Testing --------/
DoD ------------/
Environment ---/

Then students add details under each category.

Example causes

CategoryPossible causes
PeopleDeveloper rushed, reviewer missed issue, QA not involved early
ProcessNo mobile testing step, weak release checklist
ToolsAutomated tests did not cover checkout crash
TestingOnly normal cases tested, no edge cases
Definition of DoneStory marked Done without mobile validation
EnvironmentProduction data/browser/device different from test environment

Teaching line

Fishbone helps the team avoid blaming one person too quickly. It shows that quality problems usually come from multiple causes: people, process, tools, testing, and environment.

Ref: AI Tools

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