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| Criterion |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Causal Factor 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationOptionsDecision | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |