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| Criterion | ![]() Facilitation Mind Mapping | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Systems Thinking Soft Systems Methodology | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | Soft Systems Methodology helps explore unclear or politically charged problems systematically. Instead of forcing a quick answer, the method builds a shared understanding of perspectives and room for action. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 30-90 min | 0.5-3 Tage | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-10 | 5-15 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Rich Picture, Root Definitions, Conceptual Models, Change Agenda | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints |
Tagsno overlap | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | Soft systemsComplexitySensemakingSystems thinking | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders |



