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Selected:Causal Loop DiagramARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Causal Factor AnalysisBarrier Analysis
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeSafetyIncident |