Card sorting
Card sorting is a method used in user experience design to create or evaluate the information architecture of a site, workflows, menu structure, or web site navigation paths.
It consists of below main steps:
In a card sorting session the organiser/tester can choose one of the below 2 options, based on what s(he) wants to obtain at the end:
a. Closed card sorting: participants are provided with a predefined set of category names and they assign each of the index cards to these categories. This helps reveal the degree to which the participants agree on which cards belong under each category.
Closed sorting is evaluative and it helps identify whether a given set of category names provides an effective way to organize a given collection of content or if the title of the menu / submenu is intuitive enough as part of the customer journey.
b. Open card sorting: participants are required to group the cards based on the similarities they can find and at the end to find a name for each category. This helps reveal not only how they mentally classify the cards, but also what terms they use for the categories.
Open sorting is generative; it is typically used to discover patterns in how participants classify, which in turn helps generate ideas for organizing information.
Another way of performing this test is by using a card sorting web-based tool. The perceived advantage of web-based card sorting is that it reaches a larger group of participants at a lower cost. The software can also help analyze the sort results. A perceived disadvantage of a remote card sort is the lack of personal interaction between card sort participants and the card sort administrator, which may produce valuable insights.
Card sorting seems to be much more effective than usability testing in determining how effective web site navigation is, but it also has applications in many other aspects of design and research.
References:
1. 'Card Sorting Introduction' . Syntagm - Design for Usability
2. 'Card Sorting'. Improving the user experience
3. Web design for usability
It consists of below main steps:
- A person/ participant receives a set of index cards with terms written on them.
- This person groups the terms in whatever way they think is logical, and gives each group a category name, either from an existing card or by writing a name on a blank card.
- Testers repeat this process across a group of test subjects.
- The testers later analyze the results to discover patterns.
In a card sorting session the organiser/tester can choose one of the below 2 options, based on what s(he) wants to obtain at the end:
a. Closed card sorting: participants are provided with a predefined set of category names and they assign each of the index cards to these categories. This helps reveal the degree to which the participants agree on which cards belong under each category.
Closed sorting is evaluative and it helps identify whether a given set of category names provides an effective way to organize a given collection of content or if the title of the menu / submenu is intuitive enough as part of the customer journey.
b. Open card sorting: participants are required to group the cards based on the similarities they can find and at the end to find a name for each category. This helps reveal not only how they mentally classify the cards, but also what terms they use for the categories.
Open sorting is generative; it is typically used to discover patterns in how participants classify, which in turn helps generate ideas for organizing information.
Another way of performing this test is by using a card sorting web-based tool. The perceived advantage of web-based card sorting is that it reaches a larger group of participants at a lower cost. The software can also help analyze the sort results. A perceived disadvantage of a remote card sort is the lack of personal interaction between card sort participants and the card sort administrator, which may produce valuable insights.
Card sorting seems to be much more effective than usability testing in determining how effective web site navigation is, but it also has applications in many other aspects of design and research.
References:
1. 'Card Sorting Introduction' . Syntagm - Design for Usability
2. 'Card Sorting'. Improving the user experience
3. Web design for usability
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