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| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Operations Waste Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | For a process that keeps people busy but creates little value, the method exposes waste. It directs attention to unnecessary movement, waiting times, rework, and overdelivery. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-8 | 4-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Waste Map, Prioritized Waste, Improvement Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | FlowMeasurementConstraints | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | WasteLeanProcess improvement |