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| Criterion |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Engineering Hypothesis-Driven Troubleshooting |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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 systems fail unexpectedly, spontaneous attempts often produce more noise than insight. Hypothesis-driven Troubleshooting translates symptoms into testable assumptions and makes troubleshooting learnable. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-4 h | 30-240 min | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Hypothesis Log, Test Plan, Evidence Notes, Diagnosis Summary | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | TroubleshootingProblem solvingDiagnosis | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |