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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Innovation Morphological Analysis |  Innovation Brainstorming |  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 a search for solutions with many degrees of freedom, a grid emerges for systematic combinations. The method separates features, variants, and exclusion criteria, so the space gets explored deliberately. | 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. | 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 | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Morphological Box, Concept Combinations, Idea Shortlist | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | IdeationInnovationCreativity | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |