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| Criterion |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations Bottleneck Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | For a flow that backs up at one point, the method looks for the capacity limit with the greatest leverage. It explains why extra effort elsewhere barely improves throughput. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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 | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 30-90 min | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Bottleneck Map, Flow Metrics, Improvement Options, Follow-up Measures | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | ProcessOperationsImprovement | FlowMeasurementConstraints | DecisionTreeOptions | LeanObservationProcessOperations |