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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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 a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 15-45 min | 30-60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 1-3 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |