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| Criterion |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | 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 a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | Mehrere Wochen | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 2-5 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | InnovationPrototypeResearch | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |