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| Criterion |  Engineering Hypothesis-Driven Troubleshooting |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When systems fail unexpectedly, spontaneous attempts often produce more noise than insight. Hypothesis-driven Troubleshooting translates symptoms into testable assumptions and makes troubleshooting learnable. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-240 min | 45-90 min | 2-8 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Hypothesis Log, Test Plan, Evidence Notes, Diagnosis Summary | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingProblem solvingDiagnosis | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |