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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations Theory of Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-12 | 3-10 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | FlowVisual managementDelivery | ProcessOperationsImprovement | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement |