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Criterion
Paper illustration of two people facing each other, speech bubbles and an open interview notebook.
UX Research
User Interviews
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
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.For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.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
LowHighMediumLow
Timedifferent
30–60 min per interview2-6 h3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
1 participant per interview3-101 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Interview Notes, Themes, Insight SummaryFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation ActionsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksRoot cause notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
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