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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Diary Study.
UX Research
Diary Study
Paper illustration of several people silently writing ideas and passing sheets around with arrows.
Innovation
Brainwriting
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 loud voices or hierarchy distort the idea search, the method creates a quiet entry into joint development. It gives everyone thinking space and gathers contributions without social brakes, making diversity more visible and easier to build on.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-4 Wochen15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen5-203-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsDiary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience TimelineIdea sheets, Expanded concepts, Prioritized list
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
UX researchTrackingBehavior
BrainstormingCollaborationInclusionIdeas
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of Design Charrette with its method-specific working model.
Innovation
Design Charrette
Paper mind map with a central course onboarding question, colored main branches, keywords and cross-links.
Facilitation
Mind Mapping
Paper illustration for Round Robin Brainstorming
Innovation
Round Robin Brainstorming
Paper illustration for 1-2-4-All.
Facilitation
1-2-4-All