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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Process Mapping |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |  Agile 4Ls 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. | 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. | 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. | When a sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter | 45–75 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | Scrum Team | Team members involved |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Improvement actions, Team agreements | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | ProcessOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam |