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Criterion
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
Paper illustration of the Consensus Workshop working structure.
Facilitation
Consensus Workshop
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
Paper illustration of the Lightning Decision Jam working structure.
Facilitation
Decision Jam
Purposedifferent
When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer.When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time.When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
45–90 min1-3 h1-4 h60-90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-105-303-84-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areasConsensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority AreasProblem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action PlanProblem Cluster, Prioritized Challenge, Experiment
Tagsno overlap
SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause
FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment
Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident
FacilitationDecisionProblem solvingWorkshop
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