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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |  Facilitation 1-2-4-All |  Innovation How Might We |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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 many people in a group too rarely get to speak, 1-2-4-All distributes thinking time more fairly. The format builds participation step by step and makes quiet or still-unformed thoughts usable faster. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 30-90 min | 10-20 min | 30–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-10 | 4-100+ | 1-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Idea List, Shared Insights, Emergent Themes | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | FacilitationInclusionIdeation | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions |