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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis |  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. | 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. | In critical processes, it is not enough to plan only for the normal case. Failure Scenario Analysis looks at the path into failure and shows which failures, chains, and control gaps cause the most damage. | 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 | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20–45 min | 1-3 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | Small cross-functional group | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | FailureResilienceRisk | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange |