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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With a stuck problem carrying many implicit assumptions, the method translates observations into open, workable questions. It sharpens the problem frame without pre-thinking the solution, turning frustration or fuzziness into a search space with clear direction. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 30–60 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 4-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |
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