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| Criterion |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Delivery Communication Plan |  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 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. | When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. | 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 | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 3-10 | 2-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |