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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Innovation Design Thinking |  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. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | 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 | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | Mehrere Wochen | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 4-10 | 2-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | InnovationPrototypeResearch | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |