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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
Paper illustration of a yellow story card, blue rule cards, green example cards and a red question card on a light workspace.
Agile
Example Mapping
Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
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.When a story carries business rules and exceptions, it brings clarity before implementation. It makes examples, open questions, and boundaries visible enough that the logic becomes jointly sound.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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-6 Wochen30-60 min1-4 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen4-103-73-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points8D Report, Containment Plan, Root Cause Evidence, Corrective Action PlanExample Map, Acceptance Criteria, Open QuestionsProblem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
QualityProblem solvingRoot cause
Behavior-Driven DevelopmentRequirementsExamplesRefinement
Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident
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