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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Knowledge Modeling Knowledge Mapping |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Knowledge Mapping makes knowledge, gaps, and transfer paths visible across a field. It fits when expertise should not just exist but also be findable and transferable. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-12 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Knowledge Map, Critical Knowledge Areas, Transfer Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | KnowledgeMappingRisk | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |