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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 h | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |