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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | 15-45 min | 30-60 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 1-10 | 2-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | Root causeQualityOperations | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |