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Criterion
Paper illustration of Futures Wheel with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
Futures Wheel
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
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.When work processes are known only from accounts and the real context stays hidden, Contextual Inquiry makes behavior at the workplace visible. Observation and follow-up questions together show how people actually work, get interrupted, and improvise.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLowMedium
Timedifferent
60-120 min1-3 Wochen60–90 min1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
3-104-12 Beobachtungen2-84-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic SignalsField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk NotesAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
ForesightSystems thinkingSignals
UX researchObservationContext
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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