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| Criterion |  Facilitation Timeline |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a project, incident, or change process is only remembered in fragments, Timeline brings the sequence back into a readable form. It makes turning points, precursors, and after-effects recognizable over the course of time. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45–90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Timeline, Milestones, Insight Notes | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | TimelineFacilitationSequence | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |
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