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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Innovation Contradiction Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Tree 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 60-120 min | 2-4 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Contradiction Statement, Abstraction Notes, Solution Principles, Concept Ideas | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ContradictionsInnovationProblem solving | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |