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| Criterion |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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 | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 20–45 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | Small cross-functional group | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeSafetyIncident | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |