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| Criterion |  Operations Theory of Constraints |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |  Agile 4Ls 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 sprint is over and friction shouldn't simply be carried forward, it opens the view onto collaboration and patterns. It creates space to see causes and changes together. | When a sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | 10-20 min daily | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter | 45–75 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 1 | Scrum Team | Team members involved |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Improvement actions, Team agreements | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam |