You are working on a Six Sigma project at a manufacturing company. The project's goal is to reduce defects in a specific production line. After analyzing the data, you identify multiple factors contributing to defects, including equipment issues, operator training, and raw material quality.

What is the most appropriate tool or technique to prioritize these factors for improvement?

Focus solely on operator training, as it's the most common cause of defects in manufacturing processes.

Use a cause$-$and$-$effect diagram $($Ishikawa or Fishbone diagram$)$ to visualize the potential causes and their relationships.

Conduct a survey of all employees to gather their opinions on which factor to address first.

Randomly select one factor to focus on and start the improvement process with it$.$