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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Fault Tree Analysis.
Operations
Fault Tree Analysis
Paper illustration of a Concept Map with concepts and labelled links
Knowledge Modeling
Concept Mapping
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 critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage.Concept Mapping arranges terms and relationships in a network that makes subject-matter connections tangible. It fits when a topic needs to be understood structurally rather than linearly.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen2-6 h1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-81-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsFault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control ActionsConcept Map, Relationship Labels, Knowledge Gaps
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
RiskRoot causeSafety
KnowledgeConceptsMappingSensemaking
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Knowledge Mapping.
Knowledge Modeling
Knowledge Mapping
Paper illustration of Barrier Analysis with its method-specific working model.
Operations
Barrier Analysis
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper illustration of MORT Analysis with its method-specific working model.
Operations
MORT Analysis