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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations 8D Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For an acute quality or delivery problem, the method structures immediate protection and root cause work together. It keeps the situation stable while the actual cause is investigated cleanly. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-4 h | 1-6 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 4-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | 8D Report, Containment Plan, Root Cause Evidence, Corrective Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | QualityProblem solvingRoot cause |



