Card Sorting

Allison Deluca
Systems Librarian
Florida Atlantic University
Adeluca@fau.edu
561-297-3642

Objectives

• The starting line
• The exercise
• Student responses
• Compiling Results
• The next sprint

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Card sorting is a method used to help design or evaluate the information architecture of a site. In a card sorting session, participants organize topics into categories that make sense to them and they may also help you label these groups.

Types of Card Sorting

• Open card sorting
• Closed card sorting
• One-on-one, group, or remote testing

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Testing

• Offer an incentive
• Explain the objective
• Ask the participant to comment or ask questions
• Watch and only respond to questions asked
• Be prepared to be shocked

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Student Comments/Questions

• "When you say media center, I think of the library, that the media center is the library"
• "Are course reserves when a course is full and you get put on a waiting list?"
• After completion, one student told me the exercise was "very challenging"

Student comments/questions

• What does "government resources" mean?
• The "collections" and "find" categories are difficult to differentiate
• One student thought "Unknown" was a legitimate category

Our website is not just difficult to navigate, the content itself is difficult for our users!!

Compiling Results

• Matrix is recommended
• I didn't do what was recommended
• Excel spreadsheets are good enough

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What now?

• Organize the website links
• Incorporate patron suggestioms
• Conduct more UX testing ASAP

Thank you!
Questions/Comments?