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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  UX Research Diary Study |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 15-45 min | 1-4 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1-3 | 5-20 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | UX researchTrackingBehavior |
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