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| Criterion |  Operations Process Mapping |  Innovation Starbursting |  Operations After-Action Review |  Innovation Lotus Blossom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Helps clarify ideas, open questions, and testable next steps in concrete terms. It opens the thinking space, collects ideas, and leads to testable options. The result is captured as a star-shaped question map, question list, and assumption list. | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 20-45 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 3-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Star-Shaped Question Map, Question List, Assumption List | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | ProcessOperationsImprovement | BrainstormingIdeationWorkshopDiscovery | LearningOperationsImprovement | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop |