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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Fault Tree 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. | 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. | 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 critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 2-4 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-6 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeSafetyIncident | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskRoot causeSafety |