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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping | ![]() Agile Sailboat Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. | When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. | 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 a team wants to read momentum, brakes, and risks together, it offers an easily understandable picture of the situation. It makes drive, obstacles, and headwind visible in the same picture. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-2 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 4-12 | 4-12 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Sailboat Board, Risks, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | RetrospectiveTeamImprovement |



