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| Criterion |  Innovation Lean Startup |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For uncertain business assumptions, the method forces the idea into contact with real market reactions early. It separates wishful picture, assumption, and observable behavior, so that learning becomes faster than planning. This translates uncertainty into measurable insight. | For an improvement that still has to prove itself in everyday work, the method runs it through small learning loops. It connects planning, checking, and standardization into a repeatable learning mode. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-8 | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note |
Tagsno overlap | LeanStartupValidationMVP | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
