View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | 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. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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 | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |