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Criterion
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving
Paper illustration for Fault Isolation.
Engineering
Fault Isolation
Purposedifferent
An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together.In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
15-45 min45-90 min30-180 min
Participantsdifferent
1-32-51-6
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleA3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause AnalysisFault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations
TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Hypothesis-Driven Troubleshooting.
Engineering
Hypothesis-Driven Troubleshooting
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)