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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | 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 | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | ProcessOperationsImprovement | Root causeQualityOperations | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |