Method for supporting fault diagnosis of an industrial installation having a plurality of installation components connected via a pipeline system, wherein each installation component can be assigned to one of a plurality of abstract component types (5, 10-15), wherein a piping and instrumentation flow diagram of the industrial installation is processed component by component proceeding from a start point along a pipeline system, characterized - in that a weighted directed component graph (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) is assigned to each component type (5, 10-15), i.e. a component graph in which a node is assigned to each considered process parameter of the component, in which an effective direction of an interaction is indicated by a directed edge as connection between the nodes, and in which, by weighting of the directed edge, it is indicated whether a deviation of a process parameter entails a deviation in the same sense or in the opposite sense in the case of a process parameter dependent thereon, - in that, for each installation component, that component graph (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) which is assigned to the component type (5, 10-15) of said installation component is selected, - in that the selected component graphs (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) are joined together to form a system of weighted directed overall graphs (140, 141, 142) of the industrial installation, the nodes of which are in each case assigned to a plurality of individual installation components, and - in that, in the case where a control loop is present in the installation, on the basis of an actual value of a process parameter controlled by a manipulated variable and on the basis of the actual value of the manipulated variable taking account of the mode of operation of the closed-loop control, a hypothetical value of the process parameter which said process parameter would have before the intervention of the closed-loop control is deduced. - in that a weighted directed component graph (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) is assigned to each component type (5, 10-15), i.e. a component graph in which a node is assigned to each considered process parameter of the component, in which an effective direction of an interaction is indicated by a directed edge as connection between the nodes, and in which, by weighting of the directed edge, it is indicated whether a deviation of a process parameter entails a deviation in the same sense or in the opposite sense in the case of a process parameter dependent thereon, - in that, for each installation component, that component graph (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) which is assigned to the component type (5, 10-15) of said installation component is selected, - in that the selected component graphs (30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 80, 90, 95, 96) are joined together to form a system of weighted directed overall graphs (140, 141, 142) of the industrial installation, the nodes of which are in each case assigned to a plurality of individual installation components, and - in that, in the case where a control loop is present in the installation, on the basis of an actual value of a process parameter controlled by a manipulated variable and on the basis of the actual value of the manipulated variable taking account of the mode of operation of the closed-loop control, a hypothetical value of the process parameter which said process parameter would have before the intervention of the closed-loop control is deduced.