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| Criterion |  UX Research Tree Testing |  Architecture Request for Comments |  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. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | 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 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 3-20 Reviewer | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | Based on research question |
Formatdifferent | Async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IA | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | 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 | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Information architectureNavigationStructure |