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| Criterion | ![]() Knowledge Modeling IBIS | ![]() Decision Making Trade-off Analysis | ![]() Decision Making Argument Mapping | ![]() Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-120 min | 1-3 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tags1 shared | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | SensemakingDecisionRationale | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |



