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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Root Cause 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. | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-3 h | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | FlowMeasurementConstraints | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |