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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects 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 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.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
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation ActionsProblem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident
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Often compared together

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

Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram