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| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations After-Action Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | FlowMeasurementConstraints | ProcessOperationsImprovement | LearningOperationsImprovement |