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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Decision Making Decision Tree |
|---|---|---|---|
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 several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 45-90 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | 1-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | DecisionTreeOptions |
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