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Criterion
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
Paper illustration of a JTBD interview notebook with a decision timeline, forces of change and a concise job hypothesis.
Product Discovery
Jobs to Be Done
Design Thinking as a learning loop: an observation notebook, a focused problem statement, different idea sketches, a cardboard prototype and user-test notes. Feedback leads to new understanding.
Innovation
Design Thinking
Paper illustration of two people facing each other, speech bubbles and an open interview notebook.
UX Research
User Interviews
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.When switching motives and progress are unclear, it reconstructs the situation from real customer circumstances. It shows why a switch happens and what kind of progress is being sought.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 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.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumHighLow
Timedifferent
45–90 min1-3 Wochen1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen30–60 min per interview
Participantsdifferent
3-105-12 Interviews4-101 participant per interview
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areasJob Stories, Outcome Statements, Opportunity ListProblem Statement, Prototype, Test LearningsInterview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary
Tagsno overlap
SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause
CustomerOutcomesNeeds
InnovationPrototypeResearch
QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery
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