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Criterion
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration for Root Cause Tree Analysis
Operations
Root Cause Tree Analysis
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.For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMedium
Timedifferent
30-60 min45-90 min1-3 h
Participantssame
2-82-82-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanCause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
Root causeQualityOperations
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
Root causeTreeIncidentQuality
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis