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| Criterion | ![]() Business Strategy Strategy Map | ![]() Operations Barrier Analysis | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Strategy Map translates strategy into a few connected objectives across perspectives such as finance, customers, processes, and learning. This makes visible which capabilities and activities are meant to drive which results. | 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. | 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. | 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 | 2-4 h workshop plus review | 2-4 h | 1-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Strategy Map, Objective Set, Cause-Effect Hypotheses | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentExecutionGoalsCausality | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |



