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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Architecture Request for Comments |  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. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
