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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  Product Discovery MVP Test Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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 assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | When several minimal variants compete to answer the same question, it makes comparing and choosing between them cleaner. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a Test Matrix and a Test Plan. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 20-45 min | 45-60 min | 45-75 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Based on research question | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Test Matrix, Test Plan |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Information architectureNavigationStructure | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryOptions |