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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Innovation Starbursting |  Innovation Reverse Brainstorming |  Innovation Lotus Blossom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Helps clarify ideas, open questions, and testable next steps in concrete terms. It opens the thinking space, collects ideas, and leads to testable options. The result is captured as a star-shaped question map, question list, and assumption list. | For persistent errors or blockages, the method shifts the view to the opposite of the desired effect. It exposes the mechanics of failure and makes hidden causes easier to grasp. This makes improvement more concrete and the problem clearer. | When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 30-60 min | 30-60 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 3-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Star-Shaped Question Map, Question List, Assumption List | Reverse Ideas, Risk Themes, Solution Ideas | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | BrainstormingIdeationWorkshopDiscovery | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityRisk | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop |