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| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an improvement that still has to prove itself in everyday work, the method runs it through small learning loops. It connects planning, checking, and standardization into a repeatable learning mode. | 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 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. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | Mehrere Wochen | 15-30 min | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeSafetyIncident |