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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |