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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research User Interviews | ![]() Architecture C4 Model | ![]() UX Design Customer Journey Canvas | ![]() UX Research Customer Journey 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. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 1-4 h | 1-3 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 1-5 | 3-10 | 4-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Customer Journey Canvas, Pain Points, Experience Opportunities | Journey Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | JourneyCustomerService designCanvas | JourneyServiceService design |



