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
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration of RAID Log with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Delivery
RAID Log
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
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.Helps clarify scope, sequence, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, boundaries, and order steerable. The result is captured as a RAID Log and a source for status reporting.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen15-45 min30 min Setup, dann laufend1-3 Tage
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen1-31-3 maintaining, briefing for everyone1-4
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsADR File, Decision Log, RationaleRAID Log, Status Report SourceArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
RiskTrackingStakeholdersGovernance
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
Add more methods