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| Criterion |  Operations Visual Management |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work. | 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. | 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 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 | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 2-8 h | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-20 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception Cues | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | SignalsOperationsVisual management | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |