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| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | For a system that does not get faster despite effort, the method directs attention to the bottleneck. It concentrates improvement on the point that actually limits throughput. | 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 | Medium | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 2-8 h | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 2-8 | 3-12 | 2-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |