The tree diagram, in particular, has its roots in the Middle Ages. “In Medieval Europe, 800 years ago, visual communication was critical,” Lima says, drawing from his book, which examines the ...

As such, I hope you consider implementing the Ishikawa diagram into your root cause analysis today. It is an effective and proven tool, and one that has seen use across several industries.

A new book by designer Manuel Lima, however, shows that data viz's roots go much deeper--some 900 years, at the very least. And calling them "roots" is very much appropriate.