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ACTIVITY: USING THE FISHBONE DIAGRAM TO GENERATE ACTION PL ANS
Moving from identifying key objectives to achieving those objectives requires a wellthought-out action plan. Roca used the fishbone process with great success to help the group formulate thorough plans of action and then introduced theprocess to the other KLCC II sites. The following version of the process for developing a fishbone diagram – which takes its name from the diagram’s shape – was adapted from a tool designed by a Japanesebusiness management scholar, Kaoru Ishikawa (Adapted from Guide to Quality Control. Asian Productivity Organization, 1986), and first used in the 1960s. It is also called the “Ishikawa diagram” or“cause-and-effect diagram.” OVERVIEW The Fishbone diagram can help your group collectively generate objectives for its work and then develop an action plan for achieving these objectives. OBJECTIVES I To set achievable goals I To rank ideas that are most important for the group to pursue to advance its goals I To identify key tasks and who will do them I To move from ideas to action TIME REQUIRED Theprocess of completing the entire Fishbone diagram will likely require more than one meeting. We’ve included time allotments with each phase; however, these are only estimates. The time required to complete each step will vary by group and issue. SUPPLIES You’ll need a flip chart, markers, and sticker dots (three for every participant) for this activity. PHASE I: SETTING GOALS This initial step isespecially useful if your group is large and has been working together for a while. Your group may have a number of ideas but struggle to select a focus and advance to action. From your entire group, ask for a few volunteers who are ready to move to action to form a committee. This committee will frame the goals that the group has expressed excitement about. The job of this committee is to developgoal statements that prepare for a meaningful discussion by the whole group, not to make decisions for the group. Potential goal statements should describe clearly what the large group is trying to achieve, for example: I Reduce the dropout rate at the high school I Improve access to services for immigrants new to the country I Reduce acts of violence among teens

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When the committe has prepared goal statements, its members will present these options to the full group. Ask the committee to lead the group through a process to select one or more goals for action. This typically takes 30–60 minutes. In this process, the committeeasks the full group to consider these questions: I What is doable in the time frame we have and with the number of people we have? I What is feasible? I What do you have passion to work on? I Who is ready to work with us to make something happen? See the Checklist for Choosing an Issue on page 139 for a more detailed set of guidelines to help you compare and evaluate issues. Try to have the entiregroup discuss these questions, to see whether they help identify the goal that has the most energy and the most people committed to it. If there is passion for more than one goal, make sure there’s also sufficient commitment to work on more than one goal. If your group is too large for everyone to engage in this discussion, you can split into smaller groups of four to six to discuss the questions.When you reconvene, ask each smaller group to report on the top goal(s) it selected. This approach gives all group members an opportunity to engage in this important discussion. Roca, for example, set a goal to reduce the dropout rate at the local high school. This goal is drawn as the head of the fish.

Fishbone Figure 1

Reduce Dropout Rates

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