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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 15-30 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |
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