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| Criterion |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 30-90 min | 1-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |