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| Criterion |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Facilitation Consensus Workshop |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 1-3 h | 1-4 h | 30–60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 5-30 | 3-8 | 4-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop |