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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations After-Action Review |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For a system that does not get faster despite effort, the method directs attention to the bottleneck. It concentrates improvement on the point that actually limits throughput. | 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 | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20-45 min | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-12 | 3-12 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | LearningOperationsImprovement | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |