Cause and Effect Canvas

How do I use the Cause and Effect Canvas?

How do I use the Cause and Effect Canvas? 

Exemplary use cases for the canvas are: 

• After a team retrospective (for example with the 3 Boxes Canvas) to analyze the causes of the problems (“What went wrong?”). 
• As part of a Data Product Design Thinking Workshop (with the Analytics Use Case Canvas) to question the User Pains (“Problems & Risks”), for example by applying the 5-Why Method (“Ask five times why”). 
• In the context of goal finding – in the context of KPI driver trees (“Key Performance Indicators”) and / or OKR (“Objectives & Key Results”) – to find the success drivers for achieving the goal. 

• To increase the business performance of a data product, determine the relevant influencing factors such as model performance and data quality. 

Step 1: Define goals / Identify problems 

Start on the right side at Effect, by writing the desired effects (goals, results, etc.) on green sticky notes or the undesired effects (errors, problems, etc.) on red sticky notes. After you have collected the goals or errors, discuss and prioritize the suggestions, for example with adhesive dots or with the help of the Priority Matrix Canvas. Focus on one goal or error and highlight it.

Step 2: Identify drivers / Analyze causes 

In the next step, collect possible causes for the error (on red sticky notes) or probable success drivers for achieving the goal (on green sticky notes) on the left side under Causes. Dependencies between the causes, i.e., causal dependencies, can be visualized by arrows (on transparent sticky notes), so that secondary and main causes become visible and the filled canvas visually resembles a fishbone. 

Step 3: Categorize drivers / causes 

Finally, group similar causes or success drivers in the six fields (three each at the top and bottom) and name the groups by placing white sticky notes in the fields (with gray dashed line) at the bottom and top under Causes and labeling them with the respective category name. In the Cause-Effect Diagram of the inventor Kaoru Ishikawa, these were the 4M: Man, Machine, Material, and Method. Other so-called main influencing groups can be, for example: Management, Environment, Measurement, and Money. Finally, assign the categories to individual persons or teams so that they can solve the problems or implement the drivers.