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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Scatter Diagram |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | When the question is whether two measures are related, the method makes patterns in the data picture visible. It separates felt correlations from relationships that actually show up in the data. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-4 h | 30-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 1-4 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Scatter Plot, Korrelationsnotiz, Hypothesenliste | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tags1 shared | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeQualityVisualization | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |