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AQL-B07 · Corrective Action, Problem Solving and Complaints

Fishbone (Ishikawa) Analysis Worksheet

Run a cause-and-effect session that ends with tests, not opinions: candidate causes across the six categories, each with how it will be tested, by whom and by when, the result and its status, counted for you and laid out as a printable cause map.

Free to use, change and copy inside your own organization. Editable Excel, plus a fillable PDF you can complete on screen.

The problem it solves

Fishbone sessions often end with a full whiteboard, a photo of it in the corrective action file, and the team's favorite cause chosen by vote. Nobody tests the other branches, so nobody can say why they were ruled out, and an empty category is never questioned. This workbook turns the diagram into a working list: every candidate cause has a test, an owner and a due date; every result is recorded as supported, partly supported or refuted; and the counts show at a glance whether the session has really found something or only stopped looking.

Who uses it, and when

Quality and manufacturing engineers who facilitate cause-and-effect sessions, and the supervisors, operators and inspectors who take part. When a problem has several plausible causes or the team holds different views: after containment, before root cause actions are chosen.

Part of

CAPA Command Kit.

Clause references: 10.2.1 (with 8.7). Clause numbers only; the standards text is not reproduced, use your own licensed copy.

Aegis Insights inside. Wherever this resource gives our own guidance, it is labeled Aegis Insights, so you always know what is our experience and what a standard or your customer requires.

A management aid, not certification or a registrar audit. Using it does not by itself show conformity to AS9100D or any other standard.

Page 1 of the Fishbone (Ishikawa) Analysis Worksheet

Page 1 of the PDF. Every resource includes a worked example.

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These tools help you run the work by hand. When you want the whole picture of your quality system from the records you already keep, that's what the AeroAssure Audit Defense Pack and the IA9100 Transition Gap Analysis do.