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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 15-45 min | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 1-3 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |