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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper notes move from an inbox to action, project and calendar collections.
Operations
Getting Things Done
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
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.With many open commitments and ideas in daily life, a reliable external storage system emerges. The method relieves the mind so priority and context don't have to compete in memory.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
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-2 h Setup, laufend15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen12-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAction Lists, Project List, Review RoutineRoot cause notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
ProductivityPlanningTasksExecution
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
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Often compared together

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

Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
Paper illustration for Weekly Review.
Operations
Weekly Review
Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving