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Criterion
Paper illustration of a branching category tree with a highlighted search path and possible dead ends.
UX Research
Tree Testing
Paper illustration for Smoke Test.
Product Discovery
Smoke Test
Paper illustration showing three sorted card stacks and an open question about a possible group.
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 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 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
MediumLowLow
Timedifferent
1-2 Tage1-5 Tage20-45 min
Participantsdifferent
Based on research questionNutzertrafficBased on research question
Formatdifferent
AsyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Findability Metrics, Path Analysis, Revised IAInterest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning NoteContent groups, Label set, IA hypotheses
Tagsno overlap
Information architectureNavigationFindability
ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth
Information architectureNavigationStructure
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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