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| Criterion |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Product Discovery Pretotyping |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | Pretotyping clarifies whether a customer problem and solution idea create enough real demand. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence, and captures the result as a pretotyping sketch, test setup, and conversion data. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-5 Tage | Stunden bis wenige Tage | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-5 | Nutzertraffic | 1-4 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Pretotyping sketch, Test setup, Conversion data, Go or no-go decision | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ValidationDemandMVP | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |