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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Operations 5 Whys |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. | 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. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 30–60 min | 15-30 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |