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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Innovation Lean Startup |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  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. | 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. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus | 1-5 Tage | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | Nutzertraffic | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | LeanStartupValidationMVP | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |