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| Criterion |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 30-60 min | 2-4 h | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | InnovationPrototypeResearch | Root causeQualityOperations | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |