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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Operations Barrier 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 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 project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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 | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 30-60 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskRoot causeSafety | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | Root causeSafetyIncident |