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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 45-120 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |