ABSTRACT
A cause-and-effect diagram is a graphical representation of the cause and effect relationships present in an information system or a system in general. The diagram can be used to conduct a root cause analysis, to help design or redesign systems, and to help create or redefine operation standards. A correctly constructed cause-and-effect diagram will lead to a better understanding of the system of interest. The diagram can then be used as an effective tool for identifying the root cause of an undesirable system effect. Cause-and-effect diagrams are useful tools for identifying the likely causes of a problem during the problem definition stage of the system development life cycle. A correctly constructed cause-and-effect diagram is very useful for conducting a root cause analysis. The full hard drive is said to be the root cause of the client server application failure. Reaching the root cause required a series of four questions each probing a causal relationship one step further.
