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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Product Discovery Experiment Canvas |  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. | When experiments become unreadable after the fact, it arranges hypothesis, signal, and learning goal on a single canvas. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a Completed Experiment Canvas and a Success Metric. | 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 | 30-60 min | 4-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-10 | 1-5 | 5-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Completed Experiment Canvas, Success Metric | Prototype, Test Findings, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | InnovationPrototypeResearch | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis | Design sprintPrototypeValidationInnovation |