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| Criterion |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Innovation Design Thinking |  UX Research Surveys |  UX Research Personas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | When a topic needs to be validated broadly and many people can answer the same question, surveys gather structured feedback in a scalable form. Answers become comparable and segmentable instead of remaining merely anecdotal. | When target groups stay too vague and teams talk about the same people differently, personas create a shared, solid picture of usage. Condensed profiles make needs, contexts, and differences tangible enough for decisions. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 3-14 Tage | 1-3 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 4-10 | 50+ | Internes Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Survey Results, Charts, Segment Insights | Persona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario Notes |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | InnovationPrototypeResearch | QuantitativeResearchValidation | ResearchCustomerSynthesis |