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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|
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 demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | 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 | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-5 Tage | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | Nutzertraffic | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
