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Criterion	Operations Fishbone Diagram	Innovation Reverse Brainstorming	Innovation Morphological Analysis	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.	For persistent errors or blockages, the method shifts the view to the opposite of the desired effect. It exposes the mechanics of failure and makes hidden causes easier to grasp. This makes improvement more concrete and the problem clearer.	For a search for solutions with many degrees of freedom, a grid emerges for systematic combinations. The method separates features, variants, and exclusion criteria, so the space gets explored deliberately.	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	Low	Medium	High
Timedifferent	30-60 min	30-60 min	1-3 h	2-6 h
Participantsdifferent	2-8	3-12	2-8	3-10
Formatdifferent	Workshop	Workshop	Workshop + async	Workshop
Outputdifferent	Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog	Reverse Ideas, Risk Themes, Solution Ideas	Morphological Box, Concept Combinations, Idea Shortlist	FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions
Tagsno overlap	Root causeQualityOperations	BrainstormingIdeationCreativityRisk	IdeationInnovationCreativity	RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause