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| Criterion |  UX Research Customer Journey Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a user journey falls apart across many touchpoints, customer journey mapping makes the experience visible as a coherent arc. Phases, emotions, and breaks become legible enough to prioritize critical moments deliberately. | 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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 1-3 h | 1-3 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-8 | 1-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Journey Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity Backlog | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | JourneyServiceService design | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | SensemakingDecisionRationale | Root causeSafetyIncident |