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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Diary Study | ![]() Product Discovery Context Canvas | ![]() Architecture C4 Model | ![]() Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 an environment of users, systems, and constraints is hard to grasp, it puts the context compactly on the table. It creates a clear reading of influence, boundary, and dependency. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 45-90 min | 1-4 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 3-10 | 1-5 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notes | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas |



