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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | 15-45 min | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 1-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |