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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | 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. | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 2-6 h | Half day | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Value Chain Map, Lever List | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | Root causeQualityOperations |