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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations 5 Whys |  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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 20–45 min | 15-30 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Small cross-functional group | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |