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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Polarity Mapping makes tensions between two opposing poles tangible, such as standardization and adaptation or control and autonomy. The method guards against making apparent either-or decisions prematurely. | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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 | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 1-3 h | 1-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | FlowMeasurementConstraints | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |