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| Criterion |  UX Research Tree Testing |  Engineering Golden Path |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 teams need a reliable default path for frequent use, sprawl quickly emerges without any guiding logic. Golden Path bundles the preferred path so good practice becomes easy and deviation becomes deliberate. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 Tage Setup, laufend | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | Golden Path Guide, Templates, Quality Checks | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationFindability | EngineeringProductivityGovernance | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Information architectureNavigationStructure |