View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Delivery Value Stream 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 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. | 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. | 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 | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | 1-3 h | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-12 | 3-12 | 4-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | FlowVisual managementDelivery | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | LeanObservationProcessOperations |