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| Criterion | ![]() Delivery Value Stream Mapping | ![]() Delivery Communication Plan | ![]() Operations 5 Whys | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-6 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |



