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| Criterion |  UX Design Service Blueprinting |  Operations 5 Whys |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a service experience is spread across several touchpoints, it brings frontstage and backstage together. It shows where user contact and internal responsibility must fit. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. | 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 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 | High | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 0.5-2 Tage | 15-30 min | 45–90 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 6-12 | 2-6 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Service Blueprint, Fail Points, Ownership Map | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Service designOperationsJourneyBlueprint | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |