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| Criterion |  Innovation Design Sprint |  UX Research Tree Testing |  UX Research Surveys |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When the product question is unclear and time pressure is high, the method takes a team from an open idea to a testable solution. It connects problem understanding, decision, and learning in one compact format, lowering the risk of spending a lot of energy on a mere guess. | 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. | When a topic needs to be validated broadly and many people can answer the same question, surveys gather structured feedback in a scalable form. Answers become comparable and segmentable instead of remaining merely anecdotal. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 4-5 Tage | 1-2 Tage | 3-14 Tage | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-8 | Based on research question | 50+ | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prototype, Test Findings, Decision Rationale | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Survey Results, Charts, Segment Insights | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | Design sprintPrototypeValidationInnovation | Information architectureNavigationFindability | QuantitativeResearchValidation | Information architectureNavigationStructure |