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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Engineering Kanban |  Delivery Communication Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 30-90 min | Ongoing | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | 2-12 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | FlowVisual managementDelivery | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning |