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| Criterion |  Operations After-Action Review |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Operations Process Mapping |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | When a sprint is over and friction shouldn't simply be carried forward, it opens the view onto collaboration and patterns. It creates space to see causes and changes together. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 60-120 min | 1-3 h | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-10 | 3-10 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tagsno overlap | LearningOperationsImprovement | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | ProcessOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |