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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Innovation Contradiction Analysis |  Innovation TRIZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | When a system should improve while another measure suffers as a result, the method makes the underlying conflict precisely formulable. It separates the desired effect from its side effect. This makes solutions possible that address the contradiction deliberately instead of half-heartedly. | For technical contradictions or trade-offs, the method looks for solutions that resolve opposing requirements at the same time. It translates limits into an explicit picture of conflict that becomes workable. This produces not just compromises but more elegant principles. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 2-6 h | 60-120 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Contradiction Statement, Abstraction Notes, Solution Principles, Concept Ideas | Contradiction Statement, Inventive Principles, Solution Concepts |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ContradictionsInnovationProblem solving | InnovationProblem solvingContradictionsCreativity |