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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 h | 1-2 Tage | 60-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-8 | 1-4 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas |