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| Criterion |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Agile Mad Sad Glad |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a system that does not get faster despite effort, the method directs attention to the bottleneck. It concentrates improvement on the point that actually limits throughput. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | When a team's or workshop's mood needs to become readable, it structures emotional signals with little setup. It makes strain, relief, and sources of energy tangible. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | 10-20 min daily | 30-60 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 1 | 3-10 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | RetrospectiveTeamReflection | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam |