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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research Card Sorting | ![]() UX Research Tree Testing | ![]() Engineering Goal Question Metric |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | Helps clarify technical problems, hypotheses, and next steps in concrete terms. It breaks a technical problem into testable parts. The result is captured as a GQM table and metric briefs. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 Tage | 90-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 3-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | GQM Table, Metric Profiles |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Information architectureNavigationFindability | MetricsMeasurementEngineeringAlignment |
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