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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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 problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-6 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | DecisionTreeOptions | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |