Interrelationship Diagram
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A quality and systems thinking tool, also called an interrelationship digraph, used in root cause analysis and in the Japanese management toolset. The core proposition is that counting the arrows into and out of each factor identifies drivers and outcomes, so intervention should target the factors that influence many others. The key qualification is that the arrows reflect the team's judgment rather than measured evidence, so the diagram is a hypothesis to test.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Factor listing: write down the factors that appear to be involved. - Arrow judgment: decide the causal direction between each pair and draw it. - Driver ranking: count outgoing and incoming arrows to find the upstream factors.
Anchor fast decisions
A single cause often produces several symptoms, so treating symptoms individually multiplies effort without changing the system. Mapping the arrows makes the causal ordering explicit, and counting them separates factors that influence many others from those that merely reflect them. Intervening on a high-outgoing factor then propagates through the system instead of addressing one symptom at a time.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_management_and_planning_toolsverified
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