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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving
Blameless Postmortem workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
DevOps
Blameless Postmortem
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 a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together.After an incident with damage or a near miss, the method creates a sober field for learning without assigning blame. It directs attention to the course of events, conditions, and effective countermeasures.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen45-90 min30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen2-53-12
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsA3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause AnalysisPostmortem Doc, Action Items, Timeline
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations
Site Reliability EngineeringIncidentLearningReliability
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Gemba Walk workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Gemba Walk
Incident Command workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
DevOps
Incident Command
Paper illustration for Learning Review.
Operations
Learning Review