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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 45-60 min | 45–90 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |