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| Criterion |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 2-4 h | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisOptions | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |
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