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Criterion
Paper illustration of Futures Wheel with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
Futures Wheel
Paper illustration for TOWS Matrix.
Business Strategy
TOWS Matrix
Anonymous individual judgments pass through feedback loops to form a distribution.
Decision Making
Delphi Method
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint 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.The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking.When knowledge is distributed and direct dominance should be avoided, groups quickly fall under the sway of their opinion leaders. The Delphi Method gathers assessments iteratively and gradually brings expert judgments closer together.When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumHighLow
Timedifferent
60-120 min1-2 h1-4 Wochen30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-103-106-30 Experten2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic SignalsTOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority ActionsExpert Forecast, Consensus Range, Assumption NotesConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries
Tagsno overlap
ForesightSystems thinkingSignals
StrategyAnalysisOptions
ForecastingExpertsDecisionStrategy
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
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