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| Criterion |  Innovation Design Thinking |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Surveys |  Product Discovery Solution Interview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | 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 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 a solution idea is already on the table, it checks how it is understood and evaluated. It looks for resonance, objections, and missing fit early in the conversation. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 20-45 min | 3-14 Tage | 30-60 min je Interview |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | Based on research question | 50+ | 5-10 Interviews |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Survey Results, Charts, Segment Insights | Solution Feedback, Objection List, Validation Notes |
Tagsno overlap | InnovationPrototypeResearch | Information architectureNavigationStructure | QuantitativeResearchValidation | ValidationInterviewsPrototype |