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| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 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 content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45–90 min | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-10 | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | Information architectureNavigationStructure |
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