Card sorting
Card sorting is a user-centered design method for increasing a system's findability.
The process involves sorting a series of cards, each labelled with a piece of content or functionality, into groups that make sense to users or participants.
Benefits of this service
Card sorting is a quick, inexpensive, and reliable method, which serves as input into your information design process. Card sorting generates an overall structure for your information, as well as suggestions for navigation, menus, and possible taxonomies.
Advantages
- Quick, simple and cheap to execute
- An established practice that involves users
Disadvantages
- Is not a task focused activity
- Results can vary
- Analysis can be time consuming
The approach
There are two key different types of card sorting techniques:
Open Card Sorting:
Participants are given cards showing site content with no pre-established groupings. They are asked to sort cards into groups that they feel are appropriate and then describe each group.
Closed Card Sorting:
Participants are given cards showing site content with an established initial set of primary groups. Participants are asked to place cards into these pre-established primary groups.
The process
We can host the card sorting sessions at our premises or on site at your office. Card sorting can be used to generate navigation groupings through to actual site maps and structure for sections of your site. We typically work with around 10 participants and conduct the relevant analysis.
The deliverables
We would typically look to deliver the following to your organisation as part of the card sorting sessions that we run.
Photographs - of arranged card sorts.
Report - that describes the purpose of the study, a description of the procedures, a summary of the findings, and perhaps most important, the significant themes that emerged within and between testing sessions.
Presentation - an oral presentation communicating the most important findings and recommendations.
Site map - generated from the card sorting with appropriate groupings.
Need some more information?
If you would like to learn more about how we can help you run a card sorting session then please call us or email us below and we would be happy to help out where we can.
We are ready to answer your questions right now, so please contact us by telephone on +44 (0) 207 168 7526 or drop us a quick email info@spotlessinteractive.com and we will do our best to help you with any questions you might have.
