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| Criterion |  UX Research User Interviews |  UX Research Personas |  Operations ALPEN Method |  UX Research Empathy 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. | 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. | With an overloaded day full of too many tasks, a realistic picture of the day emerges. The method connects estimating, deciding, and buffer thinking so planning fits available energy and time. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 1-3 Tage | 10-20 min daily | 30–60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | Internes Team | 1 | 4-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Persona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario Notes | Daily Plan, Time Estimates, Review Notes | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | ResearchCustomerSynthesis | PlanningTime managementProductivityOperations | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop |