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| Criterion |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | 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 disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. |
Complexitydifferent | High | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 2-4 h | 45-90 min | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |