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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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 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. | 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 | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionTreeOptions | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |