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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Tree Testing |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 navigation exists but search paths still fail, tree testing checks findability without visual distraction. The method shows whether labels, levels, and paths really lead to the intended destination. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 Tage | 45-90 min | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 2-8 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Information architectureNavigationFindability | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |