Kepner-Tregoe Problem Analysis

Overview

Kepner-Tregoe (KT) is a structured root-cause method. This skill focuses on Problem Analysis (PA) — the IS/IS-NOT boundary contrast — which is the high-value KT process for debugging. When a defect is selective (some cases affected, others not), the boundary between IS and IS-NOT reveals the distinction that points at the root cause.

Decision Analysis (DA) and Potential Problem Analysis (PPA) are de-emphasized here. For pure decision-making among alternatives, use thinking-opportunity-cost. For risk anticipation before a change, use thinking-pre-mortem. Those skills are purpose-built for those tasks; KT's DA/PPA add overhead without unique mechanism.

Situation Analysis (SA) is retained as a lightweight triage step when facing multiple concerns, but it is not a required preamble — jump directly to PA when the problem is already clear.

Core Principle: The boundary between what IS affected and what IS NOT affected encodes the root cause. Find the distinction, find the cause.

When to Use

• A defect is selective: affects some endpoints/regions/users/times but NOT others — there is an IS-vs-IS-NOT boundary to contrast
• The cause is unclear and not obvious from a stack trace, error message, or a single recent change
• Multiple possible causes exist and you need a systematic way to narrow them
• A complex situation has multiple concerns that need triage before diving in