View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Operations 5 Whys |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |  Agile Start Stop Continue |  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 improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. | When a team wants to deliberately adjust its working behavior, it makes habits visible and assessable. It focuses on concrete changes instead of diffuse mood. | 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 | 45-90 min | 30-60 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 4-12 | 3-12 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | Start Stop Continue Board, Improvement Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | RetrospectiveImprovementTeamReflection | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |