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| Criterion |  Product Strategy ICE Scoring |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When ideas need sorting quickly, it condenses impact, confidence, and effort into one compact score. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as an ICE table and top-ideas list. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. | 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 | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ICE Table, Top Idea List | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | PrioritizationScoringGrowthDecision | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |