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Criterion
Visual Management workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Visual Management
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Standard Work Analysis.
Operations
Standard Work Analysis
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
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.When the same task is done differently depending on the person, the method exposes the reliable core. It creates comparability without unnecessarily choking off needed latitude.When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
Ongoing1-3 Wochen1-3 h30-60 min
Participantsdifferent
1-204-12 Beobachtungen2-62-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception CuesField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsStandard Work Sheet, Deviation List, Improved Standard, Training NeedsFishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog
Tagsno overlap
SignalsOperationsVisual management
UX researchObservationContext
LeanProcessQuality
Root causeQualityOperations
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