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Selected:Affinity DiagrammingSolution InterviewARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Empathy Mapping
| Criterion |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Product Discovery Solution Interview |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a solution idea is already on the table, it checks how it is understood and evaluated. It looks for resonance, objections, and missing fit early in the conversation. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 30-60 min je Interview | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 30–60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 5-10 Interviews | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 4-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Solution Feedback, Objection List, Validation Notes | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | ValidationInterviewsPrototype | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop |