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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With a stuck problem carrying many implicit assumptions, the method translates observations into open, workable questions. It sharpens the problem frame without pre-thinking the solution, turning frustration or fuzziness into a search space with clear direction. | 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. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 2-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | Root causeSafetyIncident | RiskRoot causeSafety |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
