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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Knowledge Mapping.
Knowledge Modeling
Knowledge Mapping
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
Paper illustration of an IBIS map with issues, positions and arguments
Knowledge Modeling
IBIS
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.Knowledge Mapping makes knowledge, gaps, and transfer paths visible across a field. It fits when expertise should not just exist but also be findable and transferable.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.IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-3 h1-3 h1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-121-82-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsKnowledge Map, Critical Knowledge Areas, Transfer PlanArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision RationaleIssue Map, Positions, Argument Notes
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
KnowledgeMappingRisk
SensemakingDecisionRationale
RationaleKnowledgeDecision
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