Editing Openai/694ea56d-9f04-800a-ba2c-fe5efe061f7c (section)

==== 🔄 Comparison with Other Improvement Methodologies ====

| Feature         | Human-Centered Problem Solving                         | Kaizen                             | Lean Thinking                       | Six Sigma                                |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Core Focus      | Human empowerment & ownership of problems              | Continuous incremental improvement | Waste elimination with flow & value | Reducing process variation               |
| Philosophy      | Solve with people, not for people                      | Everyone improves daily            | Value for customer, less waste      | Data-driven, statistical rigor           |
| Typical Tools   | Simple observation, questioning, context-based actions | PDCA, small incremental changes    | Value stream maps, flow analysis    | DMAIC, statistical process control       |
| Role of Workers | Central                                                | Central                            | Central                             | Often support by trained Black Belts     |
| Complexity      | Low                                                    | Low                                | Moderate                            | High                                     |
| Primary Goal    | Build problem-solving capability                       | Continuous small improvement       | Customer value & flow               | Variation reduction & defect elimination |

===== 📌 Human-Centered vs. Kaizen =====

Similarities:
* Both see improvement as ongoing.
* Both involve everyone in the organization.
* Both value practical, small-step improvements rather than large projects. nraoiekc.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|url=https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/|publisher=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref>

Differences:
* Kawase’s approach explicitly prioritizes human judgment and ownership of problems first, whereas kaizen can sometimes emphasize procedural routines like PDCA as core tools. nraoiekc.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|url=https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/|publisher=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref>

===== 📌 Human-Centered vs. Lean Thinking =====

Overlap:
* Worker involvement in identifying and solving issues.
* Focus on continuous elimination of waste and barriers.

Distinctions:
* Lean has a stronger structural framework (value, flow, pull, perfection) and often uses tools like kanban and takt time structured around flow. Human-centered problem solving is more philosophy-first and less tool-driven. Wikipedia<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikipedia|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_thinking|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref>

===== 📌 Human-Centered vs. Six Sigma =====

Six Sigma:
* Focuses on variation and statistical control.
* Often requires specialists (Black Belts), heavy data analysis, and formal projects.

Human-Centered:
* Focuses on people on the ground and solutions aligned with their work context.
* Tools are simpler and judgment-driven rather than statistically intensive. nraoiekc.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|url=https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/|publisher=nraoiekc.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref>

Example: In manufacturing, instead of launching a Six Sigma project with DOE (design of experiments) and regression analysis to fix downtime, a human-centered approach might start with operators tracking first-occurrence conditions of downtime and testing small changes in sequence or setup to eliminate triggers.