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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Engineering Kanban |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 60-120 min | Ongoing |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-10 | 2-8 | 2-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | FlowVisual managementDelivery |