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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  DevOps Blameless Postmortem |  DevOps Incident Timeline Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | After an incident with damage or a near miss, the method creates a sober field for learning without assigning blame. It directs attention to the course of events, conditions, and effective countermeasures. | For an incident with an unclear sequence, the method makes the timeline precisely visible. It separates perception, reaction, and delay so cause and effect become more clearly readable. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 30-90 min | 60-180 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-12 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Postmortem Doc, Action Items, Timeline | Incident Timeline, Evidence Log, Delay Analysis, Improvement Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tags1 shared | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Site Reliability EngineeringIncidentLearningReliability | IncidentTimelineSite Reliability Engineering | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |