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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Innovation Design Sprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | When the product question is unclear and time pressure is high, the method takes a team from an open idea to a testable solution. It connects problem understanding, decision, and learning in one compact format, lowering the risk of spending a lot of energy on a mere guess. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 45-90 min | 4-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-10 | 2-8 | 5-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Prototype, Test Findings, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | InnovationPrototypeResearch | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Design sprintPrototypeValidationInnovation |