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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Knowledge Modeling Event Modeling |  UX Research Tree Testing |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Event Modeling connects business workflows with commands, events, and views into one coherent mental model. It helps design behavior, UI, and technical slices from the same underlying logic. | When a navigation exists but search paths still fail, tree testing checks findability without visual distraction. The method shows whether labels, levels, and paths really lead to the intended destination. | When content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 2-6 h | 1-2 Tage | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 2-8 | Based on research question | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Event Model, UI Flow, Commands, Read Models | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | EventsBlueprintDomain-Driven DesignBehavior | Information architectureNavigationFindability | Information architectureNavigationStructure |