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| Criterion |  UX Design Customer Journey Canvas |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  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. | For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. | 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 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 | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 45–90 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Customer Journey Canvas, Pain Points, Experience Opportunities | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | JourneyCustomerService designCanvas | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |