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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 1-3 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |
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