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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations 8D Problem Solving |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When work processes are known only from accounts and the real context stays hidden, Contextual Inquiry makes behavior at the workplace visible. Observation and follow-up questions together show how people actually work, get interrupted, and improvise. | For an acute quality or delivery problem, the method structures immediate protection and root cause work together. It keeps the situation stable while the actual cause is investigated cleanly. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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 | Medium | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 1-6 Wochen | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 4-10 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | 8D Report, Containment Plan, Root Cause Evidence, Corrective Action Plan | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | QualityProblem solvingRoot cause | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |