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| Criterion |  UX Research Usability Testing |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Product Discovery Riskiest Assumption Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a product is built but people get stuck on tasks, usability testing shows the friction at concrete points. Observed use instead of self-report makes visible where orientation, understanding, or interaction breaks down. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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 an idea hinges on one critical unknown, it prioritizes testing that exact piece of uncertainty first. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a prioritized list of assumptions, a test plan, and a result report. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h je Session | 45-90 min | 20-45 min | 1-2 Wochen pro Iteration |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 2-8 | Based on research question | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Prioritized Assumption List, Test Plan, Results Report |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationUXPrototype | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryAssumptions |