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| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | FlowMeasurementConstraints | ProcessOperationsImprovement | LeanObservationProcessOperations |