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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20–45 min | 30-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Small cross-functional group | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |