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Criterion
Gemba Walk workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Gemba Walk
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
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.With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects.When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLow
Timedifferent
30-120 min45-120 min30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
2-62-82-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Observation Notes, Improvement IdeasTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted DownsidesConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries
Tagsno overlap
LeanObservationProcessOperations
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
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Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving
Paper illustration for ALPEN Method
Operations
ALPEN Method
Paper illustration for Decision Framing Workshop.
Decision Making
Decision Framing Workshop