View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Diary Study | ![]() Systems Thinking Theory of Change | ![]() Product Strategy GIST Planning | ![]() 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. | Theory of Change translates a desired impact into a traceable chain of change. It makes assumptions, intermediate goals, and measurement points visible before a program is rolled out at scale. | GIST Planning helps clarify target groups, value, goals, and priorities. It links customer value, product logic, and decision priorities, and captures the result as goals, an idea bank, and a step-project list. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 Wochen | 2-6 h | Wochen bis Monate je Goal | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-20 | 4-12 | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Diary Entries, Longitudinal Patterns, Experience Timeline | Theory of Change Map, Assumptions, Outcome Measures | Goals, Idea bank, Step-project list, Tasks, Learning reports | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options |
Tagsno overlap | UX researchTrackingBehavior | ImpactOutcomesSystems thinkingStrategy | RoadmapOutcomesPlanningExperiments | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning |



