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| Criterion | ![]() Operations Gemba Walk | ![]() Product Strategy Lean Canvas | ![]() Operations Kepner-Tregoe | ![]() Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When an early product bet still has too many open points, it brings target group, problem, and assumptions into a single view. It condenses the idea so core risks become nameable. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | 45-90 min | 2-8 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 1-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Lean Canvas, Core Assumptions, Experiment Backlog | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | StartupLeanAssumptionsBusiness model | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |



