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Criterion
Paper illustration showing three sorted card stacks and an open question about a possible group.
UX Research
Card Sorting
Independent contributions form an ordered group priority list.
Facilitation
Nominal Group Technique
Paper mind map with a central course onboarding question, colored main branches, keywords and cross-links.
Facilitation
Mind Mapping
Paper illustration of shared options, independently placed voting dots, and a highlighted shortlist.
Facilitation
Dot Voting
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.When loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting.When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early.When a workshop has produced too many options and the group needs to condense quickly, dot voting makes preferences visible in a short time. It bundles individual votes into a solid signal for the next selection.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
20-45 min60-120 min15-45 min5-15 min
Participantsdifferent
Based on research question5-121-103-20
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Content groups, Label set, IA hypothesesRanked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group PriorityMind Map, Topic Clusters, Open QuestionsRanked list, Consensus signal, Shortlist
Tagsno overlap
Information architectureNavigationStructure
FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion
BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation
FacilitationVotingConsensusPrioritization
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