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| Criterion |  Product Discovery Working Backwards |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When the target state and benefit need to be clear first, it thinks backward from the desired outcome into the product logic. It sharpens vision, objections, and value proposition before elaboration. | 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 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 4-8 h, mehrere Iterationen | 2-6 h | 1-4 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Future Press Release, FAQ, Vision Statement | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | VisionNarrativeAlignment | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeSafetyIncident |