Which Method Answers Which Question

No method answers everything. Matching them to the specific question keeps the deployment small and the conclusions defensible.

The practical lesson in “Which Method Answers Which Question” is to connect a measurement to a named decision without treating the number as certainty. Teams exploring time tracking software can review time tracking software as one source of time and project context, while retaining direct feedback and documented outcomes as the basis for interpretation.

How many people are in the building

Badge data, with a tailgating correction.

For a public, independent reference related to “Which Method Answers Which Question”, consult the ISO standards catalogue. Its principles provide a useful check on scope, terminology, governance and the claims made during procurement or review.

Entrance counting by thermal or depth, which is more accurate and costs more.

Not device counting, unless the answer can be approximate.

Which desks are used, and how often

Infrared at desk level: binary, cheap, adequate.

Not cameras, which are disproportionate for a binary answer.

And not booking data alone, which records intention.

How many people are in this meeting

Thermal or depth in the room.

Cameras where the room is large or crowded.

Not infrared, which cannot count, and not the booking, which records the invitation.

Are rooms the right size

Booked capacity against actual headcount, which needs a counting method plus booking data.

Over a quarter, because meeting patterns are lumpy.

This is the most common question and it needs two sources.

When should cleaning happen

Binary occupancy with timestamps, which infrared provides.

Or entry counts at zone level.

Resolution needed is low; do not over-specify.

How do people move through the space

Zone-to-zone counting at thresholds, or device association patterns for the rough version.

Cameras for detail.

This question is rarely as useful as it sounds and frequently drives over-specification.

Should we keep this floor

Headcount and desk utilisation over a year, because of seasonality.

Plus observation and asking, which its own note argues is not optional.

No sensor answers this alone, whatever the dashboard implies.

Combining methods

Most working programmes use two: a cheap binary layer at desk level and a counting layer in rooms and at entrances.

Three is usually one too many.

And the integration cost of combining sources is routinely underestimated — budget for it explicitly rather than assuming the dashboard will reconcile them.

The selection, practically

Write your question. Find it above. Deploy the method named and no more.

If your question is not above, ask whether it is actually a measurement question, because several common ones are not.

What to check

Can you name the question each sensor type in your building answers?

Is anything deployed at higher resolution than its question needs?

Are you combining more than two sources?

And has the integration effort been costed?