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| Criterion |  Innovation Design Thinking |  UX Research Usability Testing |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | When a product is built but people get stuck on tasks, usability testing shows the friction at concrete points. Observed use instead of self-report makes visible where orientation, understanding, or interaction breaks down. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 1-2 h je Session | 30–60 min | Mehrere Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | Based on research question | 4-8 | 2-6 researchers plus sample |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | InnovationPrototypeResearch | ValidationUXPrototype | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative |