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| Criterion |  UX Research Usability Testing |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h je Session | 20-45 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Based on research question | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationUXPrototype | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |
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