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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Innovation Brainstorming |  Innovation Crazy 8s |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | With only a few minutes available and a still-fuzzy solution search, the method forces a wide range of variants. It produces fast sketches before the first idea can settle in, making different directions directly comparable and open to further development. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 30-60 min | 8-15 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 4-12 | 1-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Sketch Set, Idea Shortlist, Direction Options | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | BrainstormingSketchingSpeedDivergenceDesign sprint | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |