How to break down a problem 

Problems can often be complex with many parts and aspects. When problems are too large with multiple moving parts it can be difficult to solve them. Therefore, breaking a problem down in smaller constituent parts can help us understand the problem in more detail, but also how to solve it. 

 

What you’ll need: 

• 15-45 minutes. 
• Pens, notebook, or your preferred notetaking method. 

 

Steps: 

Create a Fishbone Diagram 

Start by drawing out a fishbone diagram. It doesn’t need to be a perfect drawing – it is more important that you give yourself enough space to add notes. You can add as many or as few ‘bones’ to the diagram as you go along. 

 

 

 

Place your problem at the ‘head’ of the fish. 

Your problem should go at the head of the fish. This is to make sure that you keep focused on the problem that is at hand. If you think about the problem being the head of the fish, the bones of the fish are the aspects of the problem that lead to it. 

 

Add the smaller components of the problem on each of the bones. 

At the top of each bone, you should place the smaller components of each problem. These are the smaller aspects that collectively build up to the greater problem. For instance, your problems might concern marketing or funding. You can decide how many components there are to your problem. 

 

Add the aspects of the smaller problems to each bone. 

For each of the smaller problems, add smaller bones of the aspects of the problem. For instance, if you have an issue with marketing, some of your small aspects might be poor social media traction, or inability to make SEO content. Each aspect should have their own bone. 

 

Decide what problem you want to work on. 

The purpose of the fishbone is to break down a large complex problem into smaller and tractable parts. Some of these tractable parts you might not be able to work on straight away, or some of the parts you may want to delegate to other members of your team. 

 

Further Support 

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