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| Criterion |  Innovation Lean Startup |  Operations 5 Whys |  Agile 4Ls Retrospective |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For uncertain business assumptions, the method forces the idea into contact with real market reactions early. It separates wishful picture, assumption, and observable behavior, so that learning becomes faster than planning. This translates uncertainty into measurable insight. | 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 sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus | 15-30 min | 45–75 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-6 | Team members involved | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LeanStartupValidationMVP | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |