Card sorting: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:42, 18 June 2008

Revision as of 01:46, 18 June 2008

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'''Card sorting''' is a suite of techniques used to determine simultaneously, for a set of individualsitems, an ensemble of categories that group the individualsitems, and also an appropriate set of inclusion relationships among the categories.

A card sort treats the names of the individualsitems as given. In an ''open card sort'', the participants who do the sorting are expected to provide their own names for the categories. In a ''closed card sort'', the participants are provided with a predetermined set of category names.

A card sort is commonly undertaken when designing a navigation structure for an environment that offers an interesting variety of content and functionality, such as a web site.<ref>[http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040719.html Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, July 19, 2004]</ref> <ref>[http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/card_sorting_a_definitive_guide Card sorting: a definitive guide

by Donna Maurer and Todd Warfel]</ref> In that context, the individualsitems to be organized are those that are significant in the environment. The way that the individualsitems are organized should make sense to the target audience and cannot be determined from first principles.

The field of [[information architecture]] is founded upon the study of the structure of information. If an accepted and standardized taxonomy exists for a subject, it would be natural to simply apply that taxonomy as a means of organizing both the information in the environment and any navigation to particular subjects or functions.