methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

Criterion
Paper illustration for Diary Study.
UX Research
Diary Study
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper mind map with a central course onboarding question, colored main branches, keywords and cross-links.
Facilitation
Mind 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.When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-4 Wochen1-3 Wochen15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
5-204-12 Beobachtungen1-10
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience TimelineField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsMind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions
Tagsno overlap
UX researchTrackingBehavior
UX researchObservationContext
BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation
Add more methods

Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of several people silently writing ideas and passing sheets around with arrows.
Innovation
Brainwriting
Paper illustration for Round Robin Brainstorming
Innovation
Round Robin Brainstorming
Paper illustration for 1-2-4-All.
Facilitation
1-2-4-All
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram