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| Criterion |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | 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. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | Root causeSafetyIncident | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |