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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations After-Action Review |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |  Operations Process Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20-45 min | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-12 | Scrum Team | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Improvement actions, Team agreements | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | LearningOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning | ProcessOperationsImprovement |