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Selected:Usability TestingCard SortingLASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion |  UX Research Usability Testing |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h je Session | 20-45 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationUXPrototype | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |