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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Operations After-Action Review | ![]() Operations Process Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 20-45 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 3-8 | 3-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | LearningOperationsImprovement | ProcessOperationsImprovement |



