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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | 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. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | A Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 45-90 min | 2-4 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 2-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes |
Tags1 shared | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization |