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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  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. | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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 | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | FlowMeasurementConstraints | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | Root causeSafetyIncident |