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| Criterion | ![]() Operations Fishbone Diagram | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |



