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| Criterion |  Facilitation Dot Estimation |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets. | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | 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. | 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 | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 5-20 min | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 | 3-12 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion Targets | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | EstimationEffortRisk | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |