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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Delivery Cost of Delay |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | Helps clarify scope, order, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, constraints, and sequence manageable. The result is captured as a Cost of Delay table and prioritization sequence. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | 45-90 min | 90-180 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | CoD Table, Prioritization Sequence | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | PrioritizationDeliveryEconomicsDecision | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |