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Criterion
A paper-based illustration representing Context Canvas with its core stages and visible working result.
Product Discovery
Context Canvas
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder 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.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.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
45-90 min1-3 Wochen1-2 h60–90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-104-12 Beobachtungen4-122-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notesField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision QuestionsStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes
Tagsno overlap
ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas
UX researchObservationContext
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
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