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| Criterion |  UX Research User Interviews |  Architecture arc42 |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 1-2 Tage | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 1-4 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |
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