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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Tree Testing |  Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | In critical processes, it is not enough to plan only for the normal case. Failure Scenario Analysis looks at the path into failure and shows which failures, chains, and control gaps cause the most damage. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Information architectureNavigationFindability | FailureResilienceRisk |
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