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| Criterion |  Operations 5 Whys |  Agile Mad Sad Glad |  Agile 4Ls Retrospective |  Operations Root Cause 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 team's or workshop's mood needs to become readable, it structures emotional signals with little setup. It makes strain, relief, and sources of energy tangible. | When a sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-30 min | 30-60 min | 45–75 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-10 | Team members involved | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | RetrospectiveTeamReflection | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |