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| Criterion | ![]() Product Strategy Lean Canvas | ![]() Operations Causal Factor Analysis | ![]() Operations Barrier Analysis | ![]() Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an early product bet still has too many open points, it brings target group, problem, and assumptions into a single view. It condenses the idea so core risks become nameable. | 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. | 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. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 2-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 3-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Lean Canvas, Core Assumptions, Experiment Backlog | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | StartupLeanAssumptionsBusiness model | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeSafetyIncident | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |



