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| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Facilitation Decision Jam |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  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 a decision is stuck, Decision Jam loosens the knot through structured separation of problem, idea, and selection. The format creates movement without jumping prematurely at the first seemingly elegant answer. | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 60-90 min | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 4-10 | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Problem Cluster, Prioritized Challenge, Experiment | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | FacilitationDecisionProblem solvingWorkshop | FacilitationOptionsDecision | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |