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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Waste Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|
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 process that keeps people busy but creates little value, the method exposes waste. It directs attention to unnecessary movement, waiting times, rework, and overdelivery. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 45-120 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Waste Map, Prioritized Waste, Improvement Backlog | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | WasteLeanProcess improvement | Root causeQualityOperations |
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