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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Systems Mapping method illustration showing its working structure
Systems Thinking
Systems Mapping
Paper illustration for Behavior Over Time Graph.
Systems Thinking
Behavior Over Time Graph
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.Systems Mapping arranges elements, relationships, and boundaries so a complex field becomes legible at a glance. The overview stabilizes the overall picture before detail work or steering begins.A Behavior Over Time Graph shows how a metric or observation develops over time. The method makes trends, breaks, and recurring patterns visible that get lost in snapshots.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen1-3 h20-45 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen3-121-10
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsSystem Map, Dependencies, Leverage PointsBehavior Over Time Graph, Trend Hypotheses, Key Events
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
Systems thinkingMappingBoundariesChange
Systems thinkingPatternsDynamics
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of System Archetypes with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
System Archetypes
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram
Paper illustration for Domain Context Map
Domain Modeling
Domain Context Map
Paper illustration for Future Reality Tree.
Systems Thinking
Future Reality Tree