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Criterion
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Purposedifferent
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.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.
Complexitysame
LowLow
Timedifferent
15-30 min20–45 min
Participantsdifferent
2-6Small cross-functional group
Formatsame
WorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Root cause notes, CountermeasuresRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log
Tagsno overlap
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving