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Criterion
Paper illustration of Futures Wheel with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
Futures Wheel
The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.
Agile
Sprint Retrospective
Process Mapping method illustration showing its working structure
Operations
Process Mapping
Paper illustration of a review with planned work, actual event sequence, comparison, and assigned improvement actions.
Operations
After-Action Review
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 a sprint is over and friction shouldn't simply be carried forward, it opens the view onto collaboration and patterns. It creates space to see causes and changes together.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.After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
60-120 minUp to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter1-3 h20-45 min
Participantsdifferent
3-10Scrum Team3-103-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic SignalsImprovement actions, Team agreementsProcess Map, Handoff List, Improvement BacklogLessons learned, Action items, Event summary
Tagsno overlap
ForesightSystems thinkingSignals
RetrospectiveImprovementLearning
ProcessOperationsImprovement
LearningOperationsImprovement
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