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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Paper illustration of the McKinsey 7S Framework with seven connected fields
Business Strategy
McKinsey 7S
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.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.McKinsey 7S checks whether Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff fit together. Organizational misalignments become visible across multiple levers as a result.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-2 h2-4 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen4-123-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions7S Assessment, Alignment Gaps, Change Actions
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
OrganizationStrategyAlignmentChange
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
Paper illustration of Stakeholder Salience Model with its method-specific working model.
Facilitation
Stakeholder Salience Model
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram