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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Causal Factor 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. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-10 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
