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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20–45 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | Small cross-functional group | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |