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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | 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. | 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 | Low | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45–90 min | 20–45 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | Small cross-functional group | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |