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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
Value Stream Mapping workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Delivery
Value Stream Mapping
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis
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.When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible.With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
15-30 min1-3 h45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
2-64-102-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Root cause notes, CountermeasuresCurrent-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck listTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides
Tagsno overlap
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
LeanFlowWasteDelivery
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
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Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
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