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| Criterion |  Product Discovery Jobs to Be Done |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When switching motives and progress are unclear, it reconstructs the situation from real customer circumstances. It shows why a switch happens and what kind of progress is being sought. | 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 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 45–90 min | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 5-12 Interviews | 3-10 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Job Stories, Outcome Statements, Opportunity List | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CustomerOutcomesNeeds | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Root causeSafetyIncident |