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Selected:Customer Journey MappingArchitecture Decision RecordAffinity DiagrammingCustomer Journey Canvas
| Criterion |  UX Research Customer Journey Mapping |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  UX Design Customer Journey Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a user journey falls apart across many touchpoints, customer journey mapping makes the experience visible as a coherent arc. Phases, emotions, and breaks become legible enough to prioritize critical moments deliberately. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | When a journey needs to be understood across several phases, it arranges experience, touchpoints, and opportunities into one picture. It makes gaps and friction along the user path clear. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 15-45 min | 45–90 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 1-3 | 3-10 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Journey Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity Backlog | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Customer Journey Canvas, Pain Points, Experience Opportunities |
Tagsno overlap | JourneyServiceService design | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | JourneyCustomerService designCanvas |