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| Criterion |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. | 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. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 30-60 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeQualityOperations | SensemakingDecisionRationale |