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Criterion
Four paper collections for projects, responsibilities, resources and archives.
Knowledge Modeling
PARA Method
Paper illustration for Contextual Inquiry.
UX Research
Contextual Inquiry
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Purposedifferent
The PARA Method organizes knowledge into Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. It creates order when digital notes, files, and tasks no longer cleanly fit current work.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.When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 h Setup, laufend1-3 Wochen1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
14-12 Beobachtungen4-12
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
PARA Structure, Project Notes, Knowledge ArchiveField Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain PointsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
KnowledgeProductivityOrganization
UX researchObservationContext
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of the McKinsey 7S Framework with seven connected fields
Business Strategy
McKinsey 7S
Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration of Stakeholder Salience Model with its method-specific working model.
Facilitation
Stakeholder Salience Model