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| Criterion |  Facilitation Mind Mapping |  Innovation Lotus Blossom |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Innovation Brainstorming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a topic is still unclear and too many thoughts surface at once, Mind Mapping creates an open surface for ordering them. It makes connections, subtopics, and starting points visible without fixing them too early. | When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. | 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 team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 45-90 min | 20-45 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 3-10 | Based on research question | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Mind Map, Topic Clusters, Open Questions | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | BrainstormingIdeasMappingStructureFacilitation | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop | Information architectureNavigationStructure | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence |