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Criterion
Visual Management workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Visual Management
Paper illustration for 1-2-4-All.
Facilitation
1-2-4-All
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys
Purposedifferent
With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work.When many people in a group too rarely get to speak, 1-2-4-All distributes thinking time more fairly. The format builds participation step by step and makes quiet or still-unformed thoughts usable faster.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.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
LowLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
Ongoing10-20 min1-4 h15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
1-204-100+3-82-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception CuesIdea List, Shared Insights, Emergent ThemesProblem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action PlanRoot cause notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
SignalsOperationsVisual management
FacilitationInclusionIdeation
Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
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