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| Criterion | ![]() Delivery Value Stream Mapping | ![]() Operations Theory of Constraints | ![]() Engineering Kanban | ![]() Operations After-Action Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2-4 h Analyse, laufend | Ongoing | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 3-12 | 2-12 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Constraint Map, Improvement Plan, Flow Metrics | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | OperationsConstraintsFlowImprovement | FlowVisual managementDelivery | LearningOperationsImprovement |



