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| Criterion |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. | 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. | 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 complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 30-120 min | 1-3 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 2-6 | 3-10 | 2-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | LeanObservationProcessOperations | ProcessOperationsImprovement | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |