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| Criterion |  UX Research Customer Journey Mapping |  Systems Thinking Iceberg Model |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a user journey falls apart across many touchpoints, customer journey mapping makes the experience visible as a coherent arc. Phases, emotions, and breaks become legible enough to prioritize critical moments deliberately. | The Iceberg Model separates visible events from patterns, structures, and mental models. This turns a single observation into a deeper understanding of why a problem keeps recurring. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. | 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 | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 30-60 min | 30–60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-10 | 4-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Journey Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity Backlog | Iceberg Worksheet, Pattern Notes, Intervention Ideas | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | JourneyServiceService design | Systems thinkingRoot causePatterns | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |