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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Root Cause 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. | 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 a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 2-4 h | 30-60 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeQualityOperations | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |