View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  UX Research Diary Study |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | When experiences build up over days or weeks and a single session cannot capture them, Diary Study records the course of everyday life. Recurring triggers, moods, and habits become visible this way, beyond the sharpness of memory. | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 30-90 min | 1-4 Wochen | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1-6 | 5-20 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | DecisionTreeOptions | UX researchTrackingBehavior | FacilitationOptionsDecision |