View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping | ![]() Innovation Brainstorming | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | 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 | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-2 h | 30-60 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 4-12 | 4-12 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders |



