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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Growth A/B Testing |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | When two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects. | 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 demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 Wochen | 15-45 min | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 1-6 | 1-3 | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Experiment results, Decision log, Learning summary | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth |