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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. | The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | 30-90 min | Half day | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Value Chain Map, Lever List | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | StrategyAnalysisOptions |