Table 2.

The suitability and the usability of the futures wheel method

The positive elements are market with + and the negative elements with −
1) Foreseeing and discovering the future2) Understanding and demonstrating the future3) Practicalities4) Further use and supporting framework
Possible impacts
+ identify and present different future impacts
+ create totally new viewpoints and ideas
− all impacts will not be found
Organizing thoughts
+ clarifying and structuring different thoughts concerning the future
− placing the impacts on correct tiers
− contradictory impacts can be found
Practical process
+ logical, useful, practical and handy
+ independent of place
+ visual wheel
− large and complex wheels
− need a written or an oral explanation
Futures-consciousness
+ futures thinking is an important skill
+ possibilities for financial profits
+ minimize business risks
+ competitive advantage
+ adds agility in market behavior
Potential and desired impacts
+ to detect impacts of different probability
+ joint comparison of thoughts
− further, validation might be needed
Demonstrating complex interrelationships
+ reveals and concretize causal relationships
+ demonstrates chronological order
Participants
+ among different people
− dependence on participants (qualitative and quantitative)
− resource consuming
Inclusion in curriculum
+ inclusion in a master’s degree
+ inclusion in continuing education
+ a separate course
+ incorporated in several different courses
Alternate scenarios
+ deep view including simultaneously many different impacts
+ assist in choosing the needed action among different possibilities
Expressing other futures studies
and developing multi-concepts
+ to form a holistic view, “the big picture”
+ possibility to compare your thoughts with others
− challenge of delineation
Suitable topics
+ hardly any limitations
+ known and new phenomena
+ complicated and simple phenomena
+ strategic planning
+ quantitative and qualitative analysis
+ market dynamics
+ delineated target or wider societal issues
Implementation in practice
+ high motivation to implement in practice
+ high motivation to develop skills further
+ easy to incorporate in practice

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