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Selected:Causal Factor AnalysisAssumption SurfacingFailure Mode and Effects AnalysisFishbone Diagram
| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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 process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |