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| Criterion |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early. | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. | A Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 45-90 min | 30-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-8 | 2-10 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |