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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations Fault 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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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. | 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 | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 20–45 min | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | Small cross-functional group | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeSafetyIncident |