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Selected:Root Cause Tree AnalysisARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Root Cause AnalysisBarrier Analysis
| Criterion | ![]() Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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. | 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 | 1-3 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-4 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeSafetyIncident |



