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| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Innovation Lean Startup |  Product Discovery Pretotyping |  Product Discovery Smoke 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. | 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. | Pretotyping clarifies whether a customer problem and solution idea create enough real demand. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence, and captures the result as a pretotyping sketch, test setup, and conversion data. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus | Stunden bis wenige Tage | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 2-8 | 1-4 | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision | Pretotyping sketch, Test setup, Conversion data, Go or no-go decision | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | LeanStartupValidationMVP | ValidationDemandMVP | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth |