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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  UX Research User Interviews |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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 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. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45–90 min | 30–60 min per interview | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 1 participant per interview | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |