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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Operations After-Action Review |  Agile Sprint 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. | 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. | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | 20-45 min | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-12 | 3-12 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | LearningOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |