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| Criterion |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 45-90 min | 10-20 min daily | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |