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| Criterion |  Facilitation Timeline |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a project, incident, or change process is only remembered in fragments, Timeline brings the sequence back into a readable form. It makes turning points, precursors, and after-effects recognizable over the course of time. | 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 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 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 | Low | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-10 | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Timeline, Milestones, Insight Notes | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | TimelineFacilitationSequence | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | FacilitationOptionsDecision | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |