methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

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
Paper illustration for CATWOE Analysis.
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.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.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
LowHighMediumMedium
Timedifferent
30-90 min0.5-3 Tage45-120 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
2-105-152-83-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Rich Picture, Problem Framing NotesRich Picture, Root Definitions, Conceptual Models, Change AgendaTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted DownsidesCATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization
Soft systemsComplexitySensemakingSystems thinking
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders
Add more methods