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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Engineering Kanban |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | 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. | When work processes are known only from accounts and the real context stays hidden, Contextual Inquiry makes behavior at the workplace visible. Observation and follow-up questions together show how people actually work, get interrupted, and improvise. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | Ongoing | 1-3 Wochen | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-12 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 2-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | FlowVisual managementDelivery | UX researchObservationContext | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |