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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 Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree
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.A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumHigh
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-3 h2-6 h
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-123-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsKnowledge Map, Critical Knowledge Areas, Transfer PlanCurrent Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
KnowledgeMappingRisk
Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Theory of Constraints Thinking Process.
Systems Thinking
Theory of Constraints Thinking Process
Paper illustration for Causal Factor Analysis.
Operations
Causal Factor Analysis
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram
Paper illustration of a Concept Map with concepts and labelled links
Knowledge Modeling
Concept Mapping