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| Criterion |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | 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 | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | FlowMeasurementConstraints | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |