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| Criterion |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Facilitation Stakeholder Mapping |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-2 h | 60–90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 4-12 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Stakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |