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| Criterion |  Operations Visual Management |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Operations After-Action Review |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work. | 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. | 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. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 h | 20-45 min | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-20 | 4-10 | 3-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception Cues | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | SignalsOperationsVisual management | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | LearningOperationsImprovement | LeanObservationProcessOperations |