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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |  Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |  Facilitation Alignment 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. | Polarity Mapping makes tensions between two opposing poles tangible, such as standardization and adaptation or control and autonomy. The method guards against making apparent either-or decisions prematurely. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-2 h | 45-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 3-12 | 3-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |