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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Tree Testing |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 Tage | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 1-4 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Information architectureNavigationFindability | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |