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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis | ![]() Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-4 h | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tags1 shared | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |



