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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Card SortingArchitecture Decision RecordFirst-click Testing
| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() UX Research Card Sorting | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() UX Research First-click Testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | 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. | When users immediately turn the wrong way on a screen or wireframe, first click testing checks initial orientation at high speed. The first click shows early whether expectation, labeling, and wayfinding fit together. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 20-45 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | Based on research question | 1-3 | 10-30 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Click Heatmap, Success Rate, Design Recommendations |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | UXNavigationFindabilityValidation |



