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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-120 min | 2-4 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |