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| Criterion |  Operations Visual Management |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations After-Action Review |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work. | When work processes are known only from accounts and the real context stays hidden, Contextual Inquiry makes behavior at the workplace visible. Observation and follow-up questions together show how people actually work, get interrupted, and improvise. | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 1-3 Wochen | 20-45 min | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-20 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 3-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception Cues | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | SignalsOperationsVisual management | UX researchObservationContext | LearningOperationsImprovement | LeanObservationProcessOperations |