Card sort is a tool that can be used to explore how participants group items
into categories and relate concepts to one another. Through this process, card
sorting can reveal important information regarding user preferences, biases,
etc. Card sort provides facilitators with a tool that invites participatory action
from participants in generating useful information regarding the way they
perceive proposed strategies deriving from a systemic design exercise. When to use it?
Frame: Card sorting gives participants an
opportunity to categorize ideas that reveals preferences regarding how elements
inter-relate together. As such it can lead to important re-framing of an issue
and build shared understanding amongst participants. How to do it? Show the participant the set of cards. Explain that you are asking for help
to natural categories of information are and what those categories should be
called.
Ask the participant to talk out loud while working. You want to understand
the participant's thoughts, rationale, and frustrations.
Let the participant work. Minimize interruptions but encourage the
participant to think aloud. Allow the participant to:
a. Add cards as new
ideas emerge
b. Put cards aside to indicate topics the participant is not
interested in (document why).
Ask the participant to name each category.
Requirements
People:
Card Sort is a flexible tool that is
best used with a group of diverse participants that bring a variety of user
perspectives to the exercise. In doing so, the exercise can reveal a wide range
of opinion/perspective regarding the relationships of particular
issues/themes. Time:
Card sort can take a variety of different lengths depending
on the subject matter being explored. This length can vary from a ½ hour to
half a day depending on the particular issue. Pros and Cons
Pros: - Card sorting will help you understand your users’ expectations and understanding of your topics.
- For interaction design, customer research or research in the social sciences, few investigative techniques are as effective as card sorting in dealing with large numbers of concepts.
- In face-to-face settings, handling and annotating physical cards is a fairly natural and unintimidating process: observing users engaged in this process can result in many insights for researchers and provide a fertile source of questions and conversations about the problem domain being studied and, of course, users themselves.
Cons: - Depending on the subject matter, finding agreed upon affinities between topic areas may be difficult.
Considerations - Provide the participants with an estimate of how long the card sort will take before beginning the session to help them better gauge the required time and effort.
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