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| Criterion |  Operations 5 Whys |  UX Design Customer Journey Canvas |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. | When a journey needs to be understood across several phases, it arranges experience, touchpoints, and opportunities into one picture. It makes gaps and friction along the user path clear. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-30 min | 1-3 h | 1-4 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Customer Journey Canvas, Pain Points, Experience Opportunities | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | JourneyCustomerService designCanvas | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeSafetyIncident |