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Criterion
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Time Blocking
Operations
Time Blocking
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
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 calendar that grows on request, the method makes available time explicit again. It combines appointments, focus work, and buffer into a more realistic day structure.When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowLow
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen15-30 min Planung, laufend30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
4-12 Beobachtungen12-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsBlocked Calendar, Capacity View, Focus PlanConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries
Tagsno overlap
UX researchObservationContext
PlanningTime managementFocus
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
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Often compared together

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

Paper illustration for ALPEN Method
Operations
ALPEN Method
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree
A paper tomato timer connects a focus task, short breaks and a work record.
Operations
Pomodoro Technique
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem