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| Criterion |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Root Cause Tree 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. | When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-12 | 2-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | FlowVisual managementDelivery | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |