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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 30-90 min | 1-3 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | DecisionTreeOptions | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |