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| Criterion |  UX Research Diary Study |  Innovation Lean Startup |  Operations Gemba Walk |  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. | For uncertain business assumptions, the method forces the idea into contact with real market reactions early. It separates wishful picture, assumption, and observable behavior, so that learning becomes faster than planning. This translates uncertainty into measurable insight. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | 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 | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | Wochen bis Monate je Lernzyklus | 30-120 min | 1-3 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 2-8 | 2-6 | 4-12 Beobachtungen |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Hypothesis list, MVPs, Learning reports, Pivot or persevere decision | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | LeanStartupValidationMVP | LeanObservationProcessOperations | UX researchObservationContext |