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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Process Mapping method illustration showing its working structure
Operations
Process Mapping
Paper illustration of a review with planned work, actual event sequence, comparison, and assigned improvement actions.
Operations
After-Action Review
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 a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots.After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-3 h20-45 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-103-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsProcess Map, Handoff List, Improvement BacklogLessons learned, Action items, Event summary
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
ProcessOperationsImprovement
LearningOperationsImprovement
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Gemba Walk workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Gemba Walk
Paper illustration for Learning Review.
Operations
Learning Review
The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.
Agile
Sprint Retrospective
Paper illustration for Theory of Constraints.
Operations
Theory of Constraints