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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Diary Study | ![]() UX Research Contextual Inquiry | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Decision Making DACI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | In cross-functional decisions, responsibilities quickly blur between approval, influence, and execution. DACI arranges these roles so decision pressure, contribution, and information stay cleanly separated. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 1-3 Wochen | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-10 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | DACI Matrix, Decision Owner, Decision Log |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | UX researchObservationContext | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | DecisionRolesGovernanceAlignment |



