View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Facilitation Timeline |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  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. | 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 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 | Low | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Timeline, Milestones, Insight Notes | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | TimelineFacilitationSequence | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |