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Selected:Design ThinkingSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Usability TestingARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  UX Research Usability Testing |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | 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. | 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 | High | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-2 h je Session | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Based on research question | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | InnovationPrototypeResearch | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ValidationUXPrototype | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |