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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 2-6 h | 2-4 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-10 | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeQualityOperations |