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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Innovation Design Sprint |  Innovation Design Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | When the product question is unclear and time pressure is high, the method takes a team from an open idea to a testable solution. It connects problem understanding, decision, and learning in one compact format, lowering the risk of spending a lot of energy on a mere guess. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-5 Tage | 4-5 Tage | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Nutzertraffic | 5-8 | 4-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Prototype, Test Findings, Decision Rationale | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | Design sprintPrototypeValidationInnovation | InnovationPrototypeResearch |