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| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Operations Kaizen Event |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Innovation Design Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For a tightly scoped process segment with noticeable waste, the method bundles shared energy for change. It suits situations that call for fast learning loops and visible adjustments. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | High |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | 0.5-5 Tage | Mehrere Wochen | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 4-10 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 4-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Kaizen Charter, Waste List, Improvement Experiments, Standard Work Update | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | LeanContinuous improvementOperations | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | InnovationPrototypeResearch |