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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Systems Mapping |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Engineering Kanban |  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 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. | 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. | 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 | 1-3 h | Ongoing | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-10 | 2-12 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | System Map, Dependencies, Leverage Points | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | FlowVisual managementDelivery | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange |