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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |  UX Research Diary Study |  Operations Gemba Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 1-4 Wochen | 30-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | 5-20 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | UX researchTrackingBehavior | LeanObservationProcessOperations |