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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  UX Research First-click Testing |  UX Research Tree Testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | When a navigation exists but search paths still fail, tree testing checks findability without visual distraction. The method shows whether labels, levels, and paths really lead to the intended destination. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-2 Tage | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 10-30 | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | 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 | Click Heatmap, Success Rate, Design Recommendations | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | UXNavigationFindabilityValidation | Information architectureNavigationFindability |