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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Facilitation Lean Coffee | ![]() Systems Thinking Soft Systems Methodology | ![]() 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 a group without a fixed agenda needs to get into useful conversations quickly, Lean Coffee structures the start around interests rather than a presentation. The group itself negotiates which topics get time first and which wait. | Soft Systems Methodology helps explore unclear or politically charged problems systematically. Instead of forcing a quick answer, the method builds a shared understanding of perspectives and room for action. | 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 | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-90 min | 0.5-3 Tage | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 3-20 | 5-15 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Prioritized Topics, Discussion Notes, Action Items | Rich Picture, Root Definitions, Conceptual Models, Change Agenda | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | FacilitationAutonomyDialogue | Soft systemsComplexitySensemakingSystems thinking | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders |



