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| Criterion |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Knowledge Modeling Shape-First Modeling |  Growth A/B Testing |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Shape-First Modeling defines data quality through shapes before implementation or integration frays at the edges. The approach fits when validation and data contracts should be part of the design from the start. | When two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen | Halber Tag pro Domain Slice | 1-4 Wochen | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1-4 | 1-6 | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | SHACL or ShEx Shapes, Validation Reports, Data Contracts, Shape Documentation | Experiment results, Decision log, Learning summary | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchObservationContext | Knowledge graphValidationSemantic | ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth |