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| Criterion |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Innovation Brainstorming |  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. | 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. | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 1-4 h | 30-60 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-8 | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |