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| Criterion |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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. | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |