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| Criterion | ![]() Agile Affinity Estimation | ![]() UX Research Contextual Inquiry | ![]() UX Research Diary Study | ![]() Agile Planning Poker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | 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 experiences build up over days or weeks and a single session cannot capture them, Diary Study records the course of everyday life. Recurring triggers, moods, and habits become visible this way, beyond the sharpness of memory. | When estimates within the team diverge too much, it puts differing expectations on a common test bench. It separates rough complexity from unspoken assumptions. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 1-3 Wochen | 1-4 Wochen | 2-5 min je Item |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 5-20 | 3-9 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Relative Estimates, Assumption Notes, Split Candidates |
Tagsno overlap | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | UX researchObservationContext | UX researchTrackingBehavior | EstimationAgileRelative sizingTeam |



