View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Product Discovery Pretotyping |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Operations 5 Whys |  Innovation Lean Startup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Pretotyping clarifies whether a customer problem and solution idea create enough real demand. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence, and captures the result as a pretotyping sketch, test setup, and conversion data. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | Stunden bis wenige Tage | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 15-30 min | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Pretotyping sketch, Test setup, Conversion data, Go or no-go decision | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationDemandMVP | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | LeanStartupValidationMVP |