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| Criterion |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations After-Action Review |  DevOps Blameless Postmortem |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | After an incident with damage or a near miss, the method creates a sober field for learning without assigning blame. It directs attention to the course of events, conditions, and effective countermeasures. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 20-45 min | 30-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-12 | 3-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Postmortem Doc, Action Items, Timeline | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeSafetyIncident | LearningOperationsImprovement | Site Reliability EngineeringIncidentLearningReliability | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |