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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2-6 h | 30–60 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-10 | 4-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | Root causeQualityOperations |