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| Criterion |  Innovation Brainstorming |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Facilitation Stakeholder Mapping |  Innovation Lotus Blossom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | 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 an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first. | When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-2 h | 60–90 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 4-12 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Stakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop |