Which tool is used to identify relationships between potential causes and outcomes?

Which tool is used to identify relationships between potential causes and outcomes?

• A. Cause & Effect Diagrams
• B. Scatter Diagrams
• C. Flow Diagram
• D. Check Sheets

Answer: (A)

Identifying how potential causes connect to an outcome is what a Cause-and-Effect Diagram does. Also called a fishbone diagram, it places the observed effect at the head and branches out into major cause categories (such as people, methods, machines, materials, measurements, and environment). This structure helps teams see how different factors relate to the outcome and where to focus their root-cause analysis. Scatter diagrams look for statistical relationships between two numeric variables, which isn’t about linking causes to an effect. Flow diagrams chart the steps or sequence in a process, not the causal connections. Check sheets are used to collect data in a structured tally, not to map cause-and-effect relationships.

Identifying how potential causes connect to an outcome is what a Cause-and-Effect Diagram does. Also called a fishbone diagram, it places the observed effect at the head and branches out into major cause categories (such as people, methods, machines, materials, measurements, and environment). This structure helps teams see how different factors relate to the outcome and where to focus their root-cause analysis.

Scatter diagrams look for statistical relationships between two numeric variables, which isn’t about linking causes to an effect. Flow diagrams chart the steps or sequence in a process, not the causal connections. Check sheets are used to collect data in a structured tally, not to map cause-and-effect relationships.