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| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Operations Theory of Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-10 | 2-5 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | ProcessOperationsImprovement | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement |