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Selected:Card SortingUsability TestingArchitecture Communication CanvasARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Usability Testing |  Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 product is built but people get stuck on tasks, usability testing shows the friction at concrete points. Observed use instead of self-report makes visible where orientation, understanding, or interaction breaks down. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 h je Session | 60-120 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ValidationUXPrototype | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |