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| Criterion |  Operations 5 Whys |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | 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. | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-30 min | Ongoing | 1-4 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-12 | 3-8 | 4-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | FlowVisual managementDelivery | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | LeanFlowWasteDelivery |