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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  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. | 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 disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | 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 | High | High |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-60 min | 2-8 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Root causeQualityOperations | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |