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| Criterion | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective | ![]() Operations A3 Problem Solving | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 2-5 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |
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