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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Business Strategy SWOT Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | SWOT Analysis arranges strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into a compact picture of the situation. It keeps internal capabilities and external influences separate before strategic options emerge from them. | 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. | The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 30-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-12 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | SWOT matrix, Strategic options, Action list | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | StrategyAnalysisMarketPositioning | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | StrategyAnalysisOptions |