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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Contextual Inquiry |  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 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 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 | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-3 Wochen | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-12 Beobachtungen | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Field Notes, Workflow Insights, Pain Points | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | UX researchObservationContext | Information architectureNavigationFindability |
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