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| Criterion |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Engineering Goal Question Metric |  Product Strategy Counter Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | Helps clarify technical problems, hypotheses, and next steps in concrete terms. It breaks a technical problem into testable parts. The result is captured as a GQM table and metric briefs. | When a headline metric could mask side effects, it adds guardrail signals against unwanted outcomes. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as a counter-metric list and guardrail definitions. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 90-180 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 4-10 | 3-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | GQM Table, Metric Profiles | Counter Metric List, Guardrail Definitions |
Tagsno overlap | FlowMeasurementConstraints | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | MetricsMeasurementEngineeringAlignment | MetricsMeasurementStrategyExperiments |