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| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 45-90 min | 30-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-5 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |