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Criterion
Paper illustration for Smoke Test.
Product Discovery
Smoke Test
Paper illustration of a branching category tree with a highlighted search path and possible dead ends.
UX Research
Tree Testing
Paper illustration showing three sorted card stacks and an open question about a possible group.
UX Research
Card Sorting
Purposedifferent
When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all.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 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
LowMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-5 Tage1-2 Tage20-45 min
Participantsdifferent
NutzertrafficBased on research questionBased on research question
Formatdifferent
AsyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning NoteFindability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IAContent groups, Label set, IA hypotheses
Tagsno overlap
ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth
Information architectureNavigationFindability
Information architectureNavigationStructure
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Fake Door Test
Product Discovery
Fake Door Test
First-click Testing method illustration showing its working structure
UX Research
First-click Testing
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping