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CAPM Practice: Demonstrate an understanding of common problem-solving tools and techniques

Question 42 of 106 in Demonstrate an understanding of common problem-solving tools and techniques

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During a project, the team identifies that deliverable defects are increasing. The project manager creates a diagram that maps potential causes under categories such as 'People,' 'Process,' 'Equipment,' and 'Environment.' Which tool is being used?

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Correct answer: Ishikawa diagram

Explanation

The Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram organizes potential causes of a problem into major categories. Common categories include People, Process, Equipment, Environment, Materials, and Management (the 6 Ms or 4 Ps). This structured approach ensures comprehensive exploration of all possible root causes.

**Why not B:** A histogram displays the frequency distribution of data values in bar chart form. It shows how often different values occur but does not organize causes into categories like People, Process, Equipment, and Environment — that structure is specific to the Ishikawa diagram.

**Why not C:** A Pareto chart ranks defects or causes by frequency to identify the most significant ones (the 80/20 rule). It prioritizes problems but does not map potential causes under categorized branches like the Ishikawa diagram does.

**Why not D:** A scatter diagram plots two variables against each other to identify correlation or relationships between them. It does not organize causes into categories — it analyzes whether a relationship exists between two data sets.

Key Concept

This question covers Demonstrate an understanding of common problem-solving tools and techniques under Demonstrate an understanding of common problem-solving tools and techniques (Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts).

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