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| Criterion |  UX Research Usability Testing |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Product Discovery Smoke 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. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h je Session | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-10 | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async |
Outputdifferent | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationUXPrototype | InnovationPrototypeResearch | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth |
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