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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 15-30 min | 2-6 h | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |