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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations 5 Whys |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 20–45 min | 15-30 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | Small cross-functional group | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionTreeOptions | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |