methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

Criterion
A paper-based illustration representing Context Canvas with its core stages and visible working result.
Product Discovery
Context Canvas
Paper illustration for CATWOE Analysis.
Systems Thinking
CATWOE Analysis
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Purposedifferent
When an environment of users, systems, and constraints is hard to grasp, it puts the context compactly on the table. It creates a clear reading of influence, boundary, and dependency.CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way.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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
45-90 min45-90 min1-3 Wochen1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
3-103-84-12 Beobachtungen4-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notesCATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, ConstraintsField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas
Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders
UX researchObservationContext
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
Add more methods