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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Pareto Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | In many problem situations, effect is distributed unequally across many causes. A Pareto Analysis separates the few drivers with high leverage from the long remainder and focuses attention on what measurably moves the needle. | 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 | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 2-6 h | 30-60 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | 1-6 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Pareto Chart, Top Causes, Focus List | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tags1 shared | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | PrioritizationQualityFocusRoot cause | Root causeSafetyIncident |