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| Criterion |  UX Research User Interviews |  Knowledge Modeling Knowledge Mapping |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Knowledge Mapping makes knowledge, gaps, and transfer paths visible across a field. It fits when expertise should not just exist but also be findable and transferable. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 3-12 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Knowledge Map, Critical Knowledge Areas, Transfer Plan | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | KnowledgeMappingRisk | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RationaleKnowledgeDecision |