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Selected:Card SortingATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Fishbone DiagramFailure Mode and Effects Analysis
| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  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. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | 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 | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |