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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper notes move from an inbox to action, project and calendar collections.
Operations
Getting Things Done
Paper illustration of a branching impact map with a Why goal at the root, actor circles, How behavior changes and What options.
Product Strategy
Impact Mapping
Paper illustration for Diary Study.
UX Research
Diary Study
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.With many open commitments and ideas in daily life, a reliable external storage system emerges. The method relieves the mind so priority and context don't have to compete in memory.When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures.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.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-2 h Setup, laufend45-90 min1-4 Wochen
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen13-85-20
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncWorkshopAsync
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAction Lists, Project List, Review RoutineImpact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery OptionsDiary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
ProductivityPlanningTasksExecution
OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning
UX researchTrackingBehavior
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