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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | 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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-12 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | FacilitationOptionsDecision | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |