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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  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. | 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 | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-4 h | 60-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas |
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