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Selected:Card SortingARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Communication Canvasarc42
| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 60-120 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 | 1-4 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |