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| Criterion |  Facilitation Timeline |  Facilitation Lean Coffee |  Facilitation Nominal Group Technique |  Facilitation Fishbowl Discussion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a group without a fixed agenda needs to get into useful conversations quickly, Lean Coffee structures the start around interests rather than a presentation. The group itself negotiates which topics get time first and which wait. | When loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting. | When a controversial topic needs depth and discipline at the same time, Fishbowl Discussion makes the structure of the conversation transparent. The format keeps the core small enough for real dialogue and open enough for controlled turnover. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-90 min | 60-120 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-20 | 5-12 | 8-80 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Timeline, Milestones, Insight Notes | Prioritized Topics, Discussion Notes, Action Items | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | Discussion Insights, Observed Tensions, Follow-up Questions |
Tags1 shared | TimelineFacilitationSequence | FacilitationAutonomyDialogue | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | FacilitationDialogueLarge group |