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| Criterion |  Operations Accountability Ladder |  Operations Family Tree Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With defensive reactions to problems, the method shifts the view from justification to ownership. It makes visible which reaction stage a person or team is currently stuck on. | For a series of incidents with a similar pattern, the method arranges individual events as branches of a common origin. It makes visible which conditions keep recurring. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2-4 h | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 2-6 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Ownership Reflection, Action Commitment, Coaching Notes | Family Tree Diagram, Pattern Notes, Systemic Measures | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | ResponsibilityLeadershipTeam | Root causePatternsIncidentSystemic | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeSafetyIncident |