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| Criterion |  UX Research Diary Study |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Domain Modeling Domain Context Map |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. | When a domain model and its associated contexts need to be thought through together, it creates a shared overview. It connects the business view and organizational boundary into a readable whole. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 20-45 min | 1-3 h | 1-3 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | Based on research question | 3-10 | 4-12 Beobachtungen |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Domain Context Map, Boundary Notes, Ownership Map | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Domain-Driven DesignContextBoundaries | UX researchObservationContext |