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Criterion
Visual Management workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Visual Management
Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
Purposedifferent
With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work.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.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.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
LowMediumLowHigh
Timedifferent
Ongoing45-90 min30-60 min2-8 h
Participantsdifferent
1-202-82-82-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception CuesDecision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected OptionFishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogProblem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan
Tagsno overlap
SignalsOperationsVisual management
DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs
Root causeQualityOperations
Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations
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