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| Criterion |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Decision Making PERT Estimation |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause 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. | On complex initiatives, a plain average tends to understate just how uncertain the outcome really is. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a PERT Estimate, Expected Value, and Risk Notes. | 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 | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 15-45 min | 2-4 h | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | PERT Estimate, Expected Value, Risk Notes | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | EstimationUncertaintyRisk | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |