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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Operations After-Action Review |  Operations Process Mapping |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 20-45 min | 1-3 h | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-12 | 3-10 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | LearningOperationsImprovement | ProcessOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |