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| Criterion |  Decision Making Delphi Method |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When knowledge is distributed and direct dominance should be avoided, groups quickly fall under the sway of their opinion leaders. The Delphi Method gathers assessments iteratively and gradually brings expert judgments closer together. | 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. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | 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 | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 1-4 h | 1-2 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 6-30 Experten | 3-8 | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Expert Forecast, Consensus Range, Assumption Notes | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ForecastingExpertsDecisionStrategy | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |