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| Criterion |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 2-8 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 2-5 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationOptionsDecision | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |