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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Business Strategy Strategy Map |  Product Strategy SMART Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | A Strategy Map translates strategy into a few connected objectives across perspectives such as finance, customers, processes, and learning. This makes visible which capabilities and activities are meant to drive which results. | When goals are formulated too generally, it brings measurability, direction, and timing into shape. It prevents intentions from staying without clear verification. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 2-4 h workshop plus review | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | 4-10 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Strategy Map, Objective Set, Cause-Effect Hypotheses | SMART Goal, Measurement Note, Deadline |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | AlignmentExecutionGoalsCausality | GoalsPlanningMeasurementAlignment |