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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture C4 Model |  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. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. | 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 | 1-4 h | 2-6 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 1-5 | 3-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeQualityOperations |