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Criterion
Paper illustration showing three sorted card stacks and an open question about a possible group.
UX Research
Card Sorting
Paper illustration of an IBIS map with issues, positions and arguments
Knowledge Modeling
IBIS
Paper illustration of a participant using a prototype while an observer takes notes beside a highlighted usability issue.
UX Research
Usability Testing
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
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.IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus.When a product is built but people get stuck on tasks, usability testing shows the friction at concrete points. Observed use instead of self-report makes visible where orientation, understanding, or interaction breaks down.When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
20-45 min1-3 h1-2 h je Session1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
Based on research question2-8Based on research question1-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Content groups, Label set, IA hypothesesIssue Map, Positions, Argument NotesUsability Issues, Severity List, RecommendationsArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale
Tagsno overlap
Information architectureNavigationStructure
RationaleKnowledgeDecision
ValidationUXPrototype
SensemakingDecisionRationale
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