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Selected:Constraint AnalysisAssumption SurfacingRoot Cause AnalysisFailure Mode and Effects Analysis
| Criterion | ![]() Decision Making Constraint Analysis | ![]() Decision Making Assumption Surfacing | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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 | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |



