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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  DevOps Blameless Postmortem |  Operations Barrier 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 an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | After an incident with damage or a near miss, the method creates a sober field for learning without assigning blame. It directs attention to the course of events, conditions, and effective countermeasures. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 2-6 h | 30-90 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-10 | 3-12 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Postmortem Doc, Action Items, Timeline | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Site Reliability EngineeringIncidentLearningReliability | Root causeSafetyIncident |