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 for CATWOE Analysis.
Systems Thinking
CATWOE Analysis
A paper-based illustration representing Context Canvas with its core stages and visible working result.
Product Discovery
Context Canvas
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment 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.CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way.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 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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen45-90 min45-90 min1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-83-104-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsCATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, ConstraintsContext canvas, Open questions, Shared context notesAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders
ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
Add more methods