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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Affinity Diagramming | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Product Discovery Test Card | ![]() Product Discovery Experiment Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | The Test Card turns a critical assumption into a testable claim and specifies in advance which result counts as success. | When experiments become unreadable after the fact, it arranges hypothesis, signal, and learning goal on a single canvas. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a Completed Experiment Canvas and a Success Metric. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 15-45 min | 20-35 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 1-3 | 1-5 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Test Card with a pre-set threshold | Completed Experiment Canvas, Success Metric |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis |



