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Criterion
Rich Picture workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Rich Picture
Paper illustration for Soft Systems Methodology.
Systems Thinking
Soft Systems Methodology
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off 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.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.With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighMedium
Timedifferent
30-90 min0.5-3 Tage45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
2-105-152-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Rich Picture, Problem Framing NotesRich Picture, Root Definitions, Conceptual Models, Change AgendaTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization
Soft systemsComplexitySensemakingSystems thinking
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Cynefin Workshop.
Decision Making
Cynefin Workshop
Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
Paper illustration for CATWOE Analysis.
Systems Thinking
CATWOE Analysis