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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Product Discovery Riskiest Assumption Test |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | When an idea hinges on one critical unknown, it prioritizes testing that exact piece of uncertainty first. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a prioritized list of assumptions, a test plan, and a result report. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-2 Wochen pro Iteration | 2-6 h | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Prioritized Assumption List, Test Plan, Results Report | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryAssumptions | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |