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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Engineering Kanban |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-12 | 4-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | FlowVisual managementDelivery | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange |