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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Personas | ![]() UX Research Empathy Mapping | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() UX Research User Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When target groups stay too vague and teams talk about the same people differently, personas create a shared, solid picture of usage. Condensed profiles make needs, contexts, and differences tangible enough for decisions. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | When teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Tage | 30–60 min | 1-2 Tage | 30–60 min per interview |
Participantsdifferent | Internes Team | 4-8 | 1-4 | 1 participant per interview |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Persona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario Notes | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary |
Tagsno overlap | ResearchCustomerSynthesis | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery |



