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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With a stuck problem carrying many implicit assumptions, the method translates observations into open, workable questions. It sharpens the problem frame without pre-thinking the solution, turning frustration or fuzziness into a search space with clear direction. | 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. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 60-120 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange |
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