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| Criterion |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Facilitation 1-2-4-All |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | When many people in a group too rarely get to speak, 1-2-4-All distributes thinking time more fairly. The format builds participation step by step and makes quiet or still-unformed thoughts usable faster. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 2-6 h | 10-20 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-10 | 4-100+ | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Idea List, Shared Insights, Emergent Themes | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | FacilitationInclusionIdeation | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |