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| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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 | High | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 15-45 min | 1-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-10 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |