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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  UX Research Customer Journey Mapping |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a user journey falls apart across many touchpoints, customer journey mapping makes the experience visible as a coherent arc. Phases, emotions, and breaks become legible enough to prioritize critical moments deliberately. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-4 h | 2-4 h | 60-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-10 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Journey Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity Backlog | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | JourneyServiceService design | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking |