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| Criterion |  UX Research User Interviews |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. | 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. | 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 | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 2-4 h | 45–90 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 3-8 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |