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| Criterion |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | When several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-120 min | 45-90 min | 1-2 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 4-12 | 4-12 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option |
Tagsno overlap | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | FacilitationOptionsDecision | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs |