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| Criterion |  Operations Kaizen Event |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a tightly scoped process segment with noticeable waste, the method bundles shared energy for change. It suits situations that call for fast learning loops and visible adjustments. | For an improvement that still has to prove itself in everyday work, the method runs it through small learning loops. It connects planning, checking, and standardization into a repeatable learning mode. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 0.5-5 Tage | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | 45-90 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 1-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Kaizen Charter, Waste List, Improvement Experiments, Standard Work Update | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | LeanContinuous improvementOperations | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |