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| Criterion |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Engineering Golden Path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | When teams need a reliable default path for frequent use, sprawl quickly emerges without any guiding logic. Golden Path bundles the preferred path so good practice becomes easy and deviation becomes deliberate. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | 10-20 min daily | 30-120 min | 1-3 Tage Setup, laufend |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 1 | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Golden Path Guide, Templates, Quality Checks |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | LeanObservationProcessOperations | EngineeringProductivityGovernance |