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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Systems Thinking Leverage Points |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Leverage Points show exactly where interventions in a system produce a disproportionate effect. It draws relationships, patterns, and feedback loops. The result is captured as a leverage map and action strategy. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | Half day | 2-4 h | 60-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-12 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Leverage Map, Action Strategy | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Systems thinkingChangeStrategy | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking |