methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Causal Factor Analysis.
Operations
Causal Factor Analysis
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause 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.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighMedium
Timedifferent
20–45 min2-6 h1-4 h
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group3-103-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logEvent Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective ActionsProblem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline
Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident
Add more methods

Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe