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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Facilitation Dot Voting |  Facilitation Nominal Group Technique |  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. | When a workshop has produced too many options and the group needs to condense quickly, dot voting makes preferences visible in a short time. It bundles individual votes into a solid signal for the next selection. | When loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 5-15 min | 60-120 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-20 | 5-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Ranked list, Consensus signal, Shortlist | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | FacilitationVotingConsensusPrioritization | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |