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| Criterion |  Operations After-Action Review |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 8D Problem Solving |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For an acute quality or delivery problem, the method structures immediate protection and root cause work together. It keeps the situation stable while the actual cause is investigated cleanly. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 h | 1-6 Wochen | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-8 | 4-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | 8D Report, Containment Plan, Root Cause Evidence, Corrective Action Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | LearningOperationsImprovement | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | QualityProblem solvingRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |