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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 10-20 min daily | 30-60 min | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 1 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | Root causeQualityOperations | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |