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| Criterion |  Operations Scatter Diagram |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When the question is whether two measures are related, the method makes patterns in the data picture visible. It separates felt correlations from relationships that actually show up in the data. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 3-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Scatter Plot, Korrelationsnotiz, Hypothesenliste | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tags1 shared | Root causeQualityVisualization | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |