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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration of a Concept Map with concepts and labelled links
Knowledge Modeling
Concept Mapping
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
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.Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it.Concept Mapping arranges terms and relationships in a network that makes subject-matter connections tangible. It fits when a topic needs to be understood structurally rather than linearly.When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen45-90 min1-2 h1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen2-81-81-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanConcept Map, Relationship Labels, Knowledge GapsArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
KnowledgeConceptsMappingSensemaking
SensemakingDecisionRationale
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