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| Criterion |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | 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. | 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 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 | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 30-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationOptionsDecision | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |