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Jobs-to-be-Done vs Customer Personas
Personas describe who the customer is. JTBD describes what the customer is trying to accomplish. The difference shapes which features you build.
Lean Canvas vs Business Model Canvas
Lean Canvas was Ash Maurya's adaptation of Alex Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas, specifically for startups. The differences look small but determine which tool fits which stage of company.
Premortem vs postmortem: opposite directions, complementary tools
A premortem imagines failure before it happens. A postmortem investigates failure after. Same psychological technique (working backwards from failure), different timing — and different teams use them for different reasons.
RICE vs ICE: which prioritization framework to use
RICE adds a Reach term that ICE leaves out. That single difference makes RICE better for teams with quantifiable user data — and ICE better for early-stage decisions where Reach is unknowable.
SWOT vs PESTLE: which one to use when
SWOT is a position assessment. PESTLE is a macro-environment scan. They're not substitutes — they answer different questions and often get used together.
SWOT vs Porter's Five Forces
SWOT analyzes a specific position. Five Forces analyzes the industry that position sits inside. Confusing them produces strategy decisions that don't survive contact with the market.