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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Theory of Change |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Product Strategy Impact Mapping |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Theory of Change translates a desired impact into a traceable chain of change. It makes assumptions, intermediate goals, and measurement points visible before a program is rolled out at scale. | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 60-120 min | 45-90 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Theory of Change Map, Assumptions, Outcome Measures | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections |
Tagsno overlap | ImpactOutcomesSystems thinkingStrategy | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange |