Follow Us on Facebook
Follow Us on Twitter
Follow Us on Linkedin
Follow Us on Google+
Rss Feed
Use this technique to unravel the causes and effects of a problem.
© iStockphoto/FredFroese
When you have a problem to solve, it's often useful to identify all of its possible causes, and then to address each of these.
This will be fine in many situations. Sometimes, though, this can be time-consuming and costly, particularly if some of the possible causes will be expensive to deal with.
This is where it's helpful to use an Interrelationship Diagram. These simple diagrams help you map out the relationships between all of the possible causes of the problem. From this, you can identify the most significant causes, so that you can focus on these.
In this article, we'll look at Interrelationship Diagrams, and we'll explore how you can use them to identify the probable root causes of a problem.
Mind Tools Club members, click here.
Join now for just $1, first month
"When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Now I am. Along with that came a 12% increase in salary." – Pat Degan, Houston, USA
The Mind Tools Club gives you many more resources than you get here on the basic Mind Tools site, including these 4 free workbooks.
You'll find training, help and ideas to boost your career.
Find out what you getLearn new career skills every week, plus get our Quick Guide to Problem Solving, worth $19.99, free when you subscribe!
With the Mind Tools Club, you get much, much more than you do here for free.
And we'll give you the 4 workbooks above when you join!
Find out what you get
PUZZLED about where to find content for your learning program or portal?
Get 1000+ management and soft skills training resources from Mind Tools Corporate.
Find out more
Let us know about anything wrong, or anything you don't like about this site, and you could win a US$50 Amazon voucher!
Click here
This ensures that you don’t lose your plan.
Please enter your username or email address and we'll send you a reminder.
Your log in details have been sent to the email account you registered with. Please check your email to reset your login details.
Learn a new career skill every week, and get our Personal Development Plan workbook (worth $19.99) when you subscribe.
Please check your Inbox, and click on the link in the email from us. We can then send you the newsletter.