Kepner-Tregoe Analysis

Core rule: Diagnose deviations by testing causes against both IS and IS-NOT. Compare consequential choices by screening MUSTs, weighting WANTs, and exposing adverse consequences before selecting.

When to Use

• A defect affects some objects, places, times, or cohorts but not comparable others.
• Several candidate causes remain and the contrast boundary can discriminate them.
• A consequential option choice has explicit non-negotiables, competing objectives, and risks that should be compared consistently.

When NOT to Use

• A uniform failure has no meaningful IS-NOT contrast, or the cause is already confirmed.
• One cheap observation settles the cause or one option plainly dominates every requirement.
• The criteria cannot be made operational; clarify them before assigning weights.
• The task is forward failure discovery for a planned change rather than diagnosis or option selection.

Procedure