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| Criterion |  Operations After-Action Review |  DevOps ChatOps |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | For operational work in a distributed team, the method links communication with direct system control. It records decisions right where the signal, the context, and the execution come together. | 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 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 | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | Ongoing | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-20 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Chat Transcript, Action Log, Automations | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LearningOperationsImprovement | CollaborationEngineeringIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |