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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Contextual Inquiry | ![]() UX Research Diary Study | ![]() Innovation Brainstorming | ![]() Innovation Rapid Ideation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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 team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | When a decision needs to be prepared quickly, the method generates many solution-close variants in a short time. It deliberately relies on pace to undercut self-censorship and perfectionism. This quickly produces a usable field for prioritization and further work. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 1-4 Wochen | 30-60 min | 5-20 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 5-20 | 4-12 | 1-20 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Ideenpool, Roh-Shortlist, Cluster |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | UX researchTrackingBehavior | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | BrainstormingIdeationDivergenceSpeed |



