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| Criterion |  UX Research Diary Study |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  Operations ALPEN Method |  Product Strategy Impact Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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 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. | When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 1-3 Wochen | 10-20 min daily | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 1 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | UX researchObservationContext | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning |