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| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Innovation Contradiction Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 a system should improve while another measure suffers as a result, the method makes the underlying conflict precisely formulable. It separates the desired effect from its side effect. This makes solutions possible that address the contradiction deliberately instead of half-heartedly. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 30-60 min | 60-120 min |
Participantssame | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Contradiction Statement, Abstraction Notes, Solution Principles, Concept Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | Root causeQualityOperations | ContradictionsInnovationProblem solving |
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