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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  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. | When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 1-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | SensemakingDecisionRationale | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |