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| Criterion |  Decision Making Delphi Method |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Operations Family Tree Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When knowledge is distributed and direct dominance should be avoided, groups quickly fall under the sway of their opinion leaders. The Delphi Method gathers assessments iteratively and gradually brings expert judgments closer together. | 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 a series of incidents with a similar pattern, the method arranges individual events as branches of a common origin. It makes visible which conditions keep recurring. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 6-30 Experten | 1-6 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Expert Forecast, Consensus Range, Assumption Notes | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Family Tree Diagram, Pattern Notes, Systemic Measures | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ForecastingExpertsDecisionStrategy | DecisionTreeOptions | Root causePatternsIncidentSystemic | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |