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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects 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 problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskRoot causeSafety | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |