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| Criterion |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Tree |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 45-120 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | DecisionTreeOptions |
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