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| Criterion |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Facilitation Stakeholder Mapping |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 1-3 h | 60–90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Stakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisOptions | FlowMeasurementConstraints | StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |