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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Engineering Kanban |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | Ongoing |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 4-10 | 3-8 | 2-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionTreeOptions | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | FlowMeasurementConstraints | FlowVisual managementDelivery |