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| Criterion |  UX Research User Interviews |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Operations 8D Problem Solving |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | For an acute quality or delivery problem, the method structures immediate protection and root cause work together. It keeps the situation stable while the actual cause is investigated cleanly. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 2-6 h | 1-6 Wochen | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 3-8 | 4-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | 8D Report, Containment Plan, Root Cause Evidence, Corrective Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | QualityProblem solvingRoot cause | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |