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| Criterion | ![]() Decision Making Decision Matrix | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis | ![]() Operations Fishbone Diagram | ![]() Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 30-60 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |



