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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Rich Picture | ![]() Architecture Software Architecture Canvas | ![]() Facilitation Consensus Workshop | ![]() 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. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | 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 | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-2 h | 1-3 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-10 | 3-10 | 5-30 | 4-12 |
Formatsame | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |



