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Criterion
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration of two user profile cards with a goal, behavior evidence, and an open research question.
UX Research
Personas
Paper illustration of two people facing each other, speech bubbles and an open interview notebook.
UX Research
User Interviews
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
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 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.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 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.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
45-90 min1-3 Tage30–60 min per interview45–90 min
Participantsdifferent
2-8Internes Team1 participant per interview3-10
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanPersona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario NotesInterview Notes, Themes, Insight SummaryTheme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas
Tagsno overlap
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
ResearchCustomerSynthesis
QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery
SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause
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