View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion | ![]() Facilitation Timeline | ![]() Facilitation Six Thinking Hats | ![]() Business Strategy TOWS Matrix | ![]() Decision Making Decision 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 a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-2 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 4-12 | 3-10 | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Timeline, Milestones, Insight Notes | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List |
Tagsno overlap | TimelineFacilitationSequence | FacilitationOptionsDecision | StrategyAnalysisOptions | DecisionTreeOptions |



