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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | 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 | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 10-20 min daily | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |