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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Tree Testing |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 20-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Based on research question | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | 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 | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Information architectureNavigationStructure | Information architectureNavigationFindability |
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