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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pareto Analysis |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In many problem situations, effect is distributed unequally across many causes. A Pareto Analysis separates the few drivers with high leverage from the long remainder and focuses attention on what measurably moves the needle. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | 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 problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-2 h | 1-4 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 4-12 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Pareto Chart, Top Causes, Focus List | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | PrioritizationQualityFocusRoot cause | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |