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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Futures Wheel | ![]() Product Strategy Lean Canvas | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 an early product bet still has too many open points, it brings target group, problem, and assumptions into a single view. It condenses the idea so core risks become nameable. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 45-90 min | 1-4 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 1-6 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Lean Canvas, Core Assumptions, Experiment Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | StartupLeanAssumptionsBusiness model | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |



