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Criterion
Paper illustration for Diary Study.
UX Research
Diary Study
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration of a Concept Map with concepts and labelled links
Knowledge Modeling
Concept Mapping
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
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.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.Concept Mapping arranges terms and relationships in a network that makes subject-matter connections tangible. It fits when a topic needs to be understood structurally rather than linearly.Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-4 Wochen20–45 min1-2 h45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
5-20Small cross-functional group1-82-8
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience TimelineRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logConcept Map, Relationship Labels, Knowledge GapsAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan
Tagsno overlap
UX researchTrackingBehavior
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
KnowledgeConceptsMappingSensemaking
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
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