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| Criterion |  Agile Story Splitting |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a story becomes too large for a clean flow, it breaks scope down along value and risk. It shapes the work into a form that ships earlier and is easier to verify. | 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. | 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 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 | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-3 h | 2-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Smaller Stories, Acceptance Criteria, Split Rationale | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | BacklogIterationDelivery | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |