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| Criterion |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeSafetyIncident |