Card Sort

What is it? A method of either prioritizing level of importance/relevance/frequency (e.g. features of a product), or of sorting topics into categories that make sense (e.g. for information architecture.) Also used to explore perceptions and associations with a set of topics. This can be done using actual cards, pieces of paper, or online card sorting software. 

There are three types of card sorts: 

  • A “closed card sort” is when topic names are provided for the participants 

  • An “open card sort.” is when participants come up with their own topic names

  • A “hybrid card sort”  is when a portion of topic naming conventions are provided, and a portion are not, or we allow participants to choose whether to add new categories or topic names 

When is it best used? There are multiple uses for a card sorting exercise.  When exploring how users organize and categorize their thinking in order to generate understanding to optimize how to structure information (within a product, service, website, cookbook, you name it), or to prioritize the importance/relevance of features and benefits, or to help users express their preferences or level of familiarity given a set of choices provided.

What does it entail? Providing participants items or topics (words, phrases, images, icons, packaging, logos,  etc) to sort against various criteria. (Sometimes criteria are provided as a framework to sort against and other times the sorting criteria are left open to be determined by the respondent(s). Sometimes, a starter list of topics are provided and then others are generated through discussion, by the participants. 

Interchangeable term: N/A 

Use in a sentence: The card sort helped our team identify the important categories of information to include in the primary and secondary navigation for our website redesign.

Related terms: Mental Model, Features sorting, Information Architecture

Visual: No


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