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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  UX Research Personas |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | When target groups stay too vague and teams talk about the same people differently, personas create a shared, solid picture of usage. Condensed profiles make needs, contexts, and differences tangible enough for decisions. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 45–90 min | 1-3 Tage | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | Internes Team | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Persona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario Notes | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | ResearchCustomerSynthesis | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality |