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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Root causeSafetyIncident | DecisionTreeOptions |