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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 15-30 min | 2-6 h | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-6 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |