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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  UX Research Diary Study |  Operations Process Mapping |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 1-4 Wochen | 1-3 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 5-20 | 3-10 | 2-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | UX researchTrackingBehavior | ProcessOperationsImprovement | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations |