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| Criterion |  UX Research Diary Study |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When experiences build up over days or weeks and a single session cannot capture them, Diary Study records the course of everyday life. Recurring triggers, moods, and habits become visible this way, beyond the sharpness of memory. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 10-20 min daily | 2-6 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 1 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |