OPS.14:1 - Problem frame

Use this when an operating alternative appears worthwhile because it raises output, lowers unit cost, releases capacity or brings money sooner. Examples include buying an extra resource window, changing a service mix, deferring work or automating preparation.

Begin with the actual alternatives and the horizon of the decision. Ask which accepted service, resource use, payments and receipts differ. The first useful result is a comparison that lets the responsible practitioner choose a feasible alternative, make an explicit trade-off or request the missing financial or resource decision.

This pattern governs the operating and financial consequences of a bounded operations choice. Use financial statements, investment appraisals or funding decisions supplied by qualified practitioners when the comparison needs them. If producing one of those results is the main unresolved work, obtain it for the named choice. An operating throughput calculation cannot settle them by itself.

In PumpWorks, completing a third test package now yields positive eventual net cash. Deferring the same package can yield more net cash over the same horizon, and the immediate option can still lack money for its advance payments. The comparison must make all three statements visible.