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| Criterion | ![]() UX Design Customer Journey Canvas | ![]() UX Research Affinity Diagramming | ![]() Operations A3 Problem Solving | ![]() Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a journey needs to be understood across several phases, it arranges experience, touchpoints, and opportunities into one picture. It makes gaps and friction along the user path clear. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45–90 min | 45-90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 2-5 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Customer Journey Canvas, Pain Points, Experience Opportunities | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | JourneyCustomerService designCanvas | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |



