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| Criterion |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | GAP Analysis compares the current state with a target picture and makes the distance manageable. It becomes useful when, ahead of new initiatives, it must become clear which capabilities, processes, or resources are missing. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | 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. | 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 | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 30-90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Gap Matrix, Action Plan, Risk Notes | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisPlanning | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |