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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
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.For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations.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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen2-8 h1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen2-81-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsProblem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk PlanArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations
SensemakingDecisionRationale
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
A3 Problem-Solving workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
A3 Problem Solving
Paper illustration for Cynefin Workshop.
Decision Making
Cynefin Workshop