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| Criterion |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Operations Family Tree Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |  Agile Bucket System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | For a series of incidents with a similar pattern, the method arranges individual events as branches of a common origin. It makes visible which conditions keep recurring. | 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 large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2-4 h | 15-30 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-6 | 2-6 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Family Tree Diagram, Pattern Notes, Systemic Measures | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split Candidates |
Tagsno overlap | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | Root causePatternsIncidentSystemic | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing |