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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  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 disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | 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 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 | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2-8 h | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |