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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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 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 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 | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | 3-10 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |