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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Systems Mapping arranges elements, relationships, and boundaries so a complex field becomes legible at a glance. The overview stabilizes the overall picture before detail work or steering begins. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskRoot causeSafety | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |