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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects 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. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 1-4 h | 30-120 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 3-8 | 2-6 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | LeanObservationProcessOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |