Card sorting

Card sorting is a form of user research that enables us to find out how users group information together

It involves participants being asked to sort cards into groups based on their understanding.

We use card sorting to help us create information architecture and arrange content within sections on websites or applications.

Open or closed?

An open card sort allows users to sort cards into their own categories whereas a closed card sort allows users to sort cards into pre-defined categories.

Depending on the purpose of a closed card sort we may label the cards with existing page titles from our client’s website or with new ones.

TIP: Understanding user requirements It is important to understand what your users want to do on your site, we can work with you to define your user requirements.An open card sort is good when we’re conducting more formative research and seeking to understand user requirements.

A closed card sort is better when working within an existing structure or well defined set of requirements.

Frequently cxpartners recommend using a combination of both open and closed card sorting, with the open card sort forming an initial information architecture and a closed card sort to validate the decisions made.

Card sorting is portable and flexible

We run card sorts almost anywhere – using hand-written post it notes or specialist card sorting software.

We like to innovate at cxpartners and continually explore how we can improve the way we carry out card sorts for our clients. This has led to us adapting our methods and the equipment we use in our testing suite – we now offer multiple camera angle views, allowing clients to watch in real time how participants group cards and hear how they describe them.

Card sorting analysis and documentation

cxpartners use a variety of tools and techniques to illustrate findings from card sorting – from qualitative techniques to understand user’s reasoning to statistical, quantitative techniques to identify the most important problems and effective solutions.

The output of a card sort is usually a refined and validated site map.

Next steps:
We’d be happy to talk to you about how card sorting can fit in to your project. Call us on 0117 946 3930 or email info@cxpartners.co.uk.

If you’re interested in other ways we can help you understand your audience, take a look at usability testing and guerrilla user testing.