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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Gemba Walk workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Gemba Walk
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
Paper illustration for Cynefin Workshop.
Decision Making
Cynefin Workshop
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 there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions.When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on.When problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen30-120 min1-3 h60-180 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen2-61-84-20
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsObservation Notes, Improvement IdeasArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision RationaleCynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking Notes
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
LeanObservationProcessOperations
SensemakingDecisionRationale
ComplexitySensemakingDecision
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