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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. | 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. | 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 | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | Mehrere Wochen | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |