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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
