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| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Agile 4Ls Retrospective |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Product Discovery Fake Door Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 a sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time. | 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. | When demand is still unclear, it measures interest in a feature before it is built. It separates real behavior from polite agreement and deliberately keeps build effort small. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | 45–75 min | 1-5 Tage | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | Team members involved | Nutzertraffic | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Click Data, Interest Signal, Learning Decision |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ValidationExperimentsDemandDiscovery |