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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Decision Making Option Framing |  Operations Root Cause Tree 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. | In early decisions, alternatives are often still vague, incomplete, or blended together. Option Framing brings every possibility into a comparable form and makes visible which variant actually fits the question. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 45-120 min | 1-3 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-8 | 2-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Option Frames, Assumption Notes, Comparable Shortlist, Decision Inputs | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | OptionsDecision framingStrategyComparison | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | Root causeSafetyIncident |