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Selected:Usability TestingSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Change AnalysisARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion |  UX Research Usability Testing |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Change Analysis |  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. | 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. | For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h je Session | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-120 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-6 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Usability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations | 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 | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationUXPrototype | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |