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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 30-90 min | 10-20 min daily | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 2-8 | 1 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | LeanObservationProcessOperations |