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| Criterion |  Business Strategy Strategy Map |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Strategy Map translates strategy into a few connected objectives across perspectives such as finance, customers, processes, and learning. This makes visible which capabilities and activities are meant to drive which results. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | 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 | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h workshop plus review | 2-6 h | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 3-8 | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Strategy Map, Objective Set, Cause-Effect Hypotheses | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentExecutionGoalsCausality | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |