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| Criterion |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Engineering Kanban |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | 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 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 | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Ongoing | 10-20 min daily | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-12 | 1 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | FlowVisual managementDelivery | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | LeanObservationProcessOperations |