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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations MORT Analysis |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  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. | 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. | 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. | 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 | Medium | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | Mehrere Tage bis Wochen | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 2-6 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | MORT Worksheets, Findings per Branch, Corrective Actions, Systemic Recommendations | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | Root causeSafetySystemicIncident | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |