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| Criterion |  UX Research Diary Study |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When experiences build up over days or weeks and a single session cannot capture them, Diary Study records the course of everyday life. Recurring triggers, moods, and habits become visible this way, beyond the sharpness of memory. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | 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 | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 30–60 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 4-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |