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| Criterion |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Facilitation Expectation Mapping |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 roles, interfaces, or projects fail because of differing expectations, Expectation Mapping surfaces these differences. It shows what each side takes for granted and where the pictures diverge. | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-120 min | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-12 | 4-12 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Expectation Map, Alignment Notes, Agreements | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | AlignmentStakeholdersTeam | FacilitationOptionsDecision | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |