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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Operations Family Tree Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | For a series of incidents with a similar pattern, the method arranges individual events as branches of a common origin. It makes visible which conditions keep recurring. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-12 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Family Tree Diagram, Pattern Notes, Systemic Measures | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | Root causePatternsIncidentSystemic | Root causeSafetyIncident |