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| Criterion |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected. | 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. | 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. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics |