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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Product Discovery Context Canvas |  Domain Modeling Context Map |  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. | When an environment of users, systems, and constraints is hard to grasp, it puts the context compactly on the table. It creates a clear reading of influence, boundary, and dependency. | When several contexts need to talk to each other, it makes their relationships and dependencies legible. It helps sort integration pressure and responsibilities across system boundaries. | 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 | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 45-90 min | 1-3 h | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-10 | 2-8 | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notes | Context Map, Integration Patterns, Boundary Notes | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas | Domain-Driven DesignBoundariesStrategy | Information architectureNavigationFindability |