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| Criterion |  Facilitation World Café |  Innovation How Might We |  Facilitation Lean Coffee |  Facilitation Open Space Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a group needs to connect many viewpoints in a short time, World Café creates a calm alternation between closeness and rotation. It sets thinking in motion without forcing the conversation into full-plenary rigidity. | With a stuck problem carrying many implicit assumptions, the method translates observations into open, workable questions. It sharpens the problem frame without pre-thinking the solution, turning frustration or fuzziness into a search space with clear direction. | 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 a complex topic does not yet have a fitting agenda, Open Space Technology hands topic ownership back to the participants. The format suits questions that only move forward when real interest determines the order. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 60-180 min | 30–45 min | 30-90 min | 0.5-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 12-100+ | 1-10 | 3-20 | 20-500+ |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Table Notes, Emergent Themes, Shared Questions | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Prioritized Topics, Discussion Notes, Action Items | Session Marketplace, Proceedings, Action Topics |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationDialogueLarge groupSensemaking | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | FacilitationAutonomyDialogue | FacilitationLarge groupAutonomy |