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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 45-120 min | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 2-8 | Based on research question |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionTreeOptions | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | Information architectureNavigationStructure |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
