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| Criterion |  Operations Gemba Walk |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Product Strategy Lean Canvas |  Operations Process Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 an early product bet still has too many open points, it brings target group, problem, and assumptions into a single view. It condenses the idea so core risks become nameable. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-120 min | 1-3 Wochen | 45-90 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1-6 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Lean Canvas, Core Assumptions, Experiment Backlog | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | LeanObservationProcessOperations | UX researchObservationContext | StartupLeanAssumptionsBusiness model | ProcessOperationsImprovement |