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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  UX Research First-click Testing |  Growth A/B 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 work processes are known only from accounts and the real context stays hidden, Contextual Inquiry makes behavior at the workplace visible. Observation and follow-up questions together show how people actually work, get interrupted, and improvise. | When users immediately turn the wrong way on a screen or wireframe, first click testing checks initial orientation at high speed. The first click shows early whether expectation, labeling, and wayfinding fit together. | When two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-3 Wochen | 1-2 Tage | 1-4 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-12 Beobachtungen | 10-30 | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Click Heatmap, Success Rate, Design Recommendations | Experiment results, Decision log, Learning summary |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | UX researchObservationContext | UXNavigationFindabilityValidation | ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation |