Card sorting
What it is
A classification activity where individuals sort ideas into distinct categories based on their comprehension of those ideas.
Why this method
To obtain feedback from users on how to arrange information in a user-friendly manner.
How to use
There are two types of card sorting: open and closed. If you are working on a webpage, you may need to use a combination of an open and closed card sort. Typically, card sorting is conducted one person at a time, but it can also be done with groups of two or three.
Open card sort:
- Give users a set of cards (sticky notes, notecards, etc.) representing content.
- Ask them to group those cards into categories that make sense to them.
- Then ask them to go further and label these categories.
- Ask them to explain why they grouped the cards and labelled the categories as they did.
Closed card sort:
- Give users a set of cards (sticky notes, notecards, etc.) representing content.
- Ask them to group those cards into categories that you have pre-defined.
- Ask them to explain why they grouped the cards and labelled the categories as they did.
Webpage card sort:
A combination of an open and closed cart sort may be order for organization of pages or content. You might find that you have pre-determined categories that need to be reviewed and changed and that you also need to make new categories. You may also choose to include a ‘Bin’ category to exclude content that is no longer necessary or fitting on your webpage. Be subjective but you can bend some rules of card sorting with this category.