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| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 30-90 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |