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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration of MORT Analysis with its method-specific working model.
Operations
MORT Analysis
Paper illustration for Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree
Paper illustration of Family Tree Analysis with its method-specific working model.
Operations
Family Tree 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 a safety-relevant event or a system with high protection requirements, the method examines where controls failed. It exposes both technical and organizational gaps.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 series of incidents with a similar pattern, the method arranges individual events as branches of a common origin. It makes visible which conditions keep recurring.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 WochenMehrere Tage bis Wochen2-6 h2-4 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen2-63-82-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsMORT Worksheets, Findings per Branch, Corrective Actions, Systemic RecommendationsCurrent Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention IdeasFamily Tree Diagram, Pattern Notes, Systemic Measures
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
Root causeSafetySystemicIncident
Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality
Root causePatternsIncidentSystemic
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