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| Criterion |  Innovation Worst Possible Idea |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a seemingly familiar problem with paralyzing seriousness, the method dissolves pressure and fear of judgment. It deliberately makes failure pictures extreme, so hidden assumptions become visible faster. This clarifies what a workable path should avoid. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bad Idea List, Reframed Concepts, Idea Shortlist | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | IdeationCreativityDivergence | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
Often compared together
Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
