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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 2-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-6 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | Root causeSafetyIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
