This document discusses information architecture and provides information on card sorting and tree testing techniques. It describes card sorting as a method to understand how users would organize content and features, involving having users sort content items into groupings. Tree testing is described as a way to test how well users can find items in a proposed hierarchy by creating tasks for users to find specific content elements within a tree. Both methods are described as being inexpensive to conduct and able to be done quickly using remote tools.

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Architecture is both the
process and the product
of planning, designing,
and constructing buildings
or any other structures.

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Information architecture
is the practice of deciding
how to arrange the parts
of something to be
understandable.

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All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018

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All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018

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Visual
Design
Interaction
Design
Information
Architecture
Content Strategy
User Research

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Questions it addresses
üHow would the users
organize the product’s
content and features?
üDo the users largely
agree on how the
content should be
organized?

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card sorting
https://dgcooley.optimalworkshop.com/optimalsort/240d8a
All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018
Incredibly
inexpensive
Done very quickly with remote
evaluation tools.
Asynchronous, so scheduling is
not an issue.

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1. Recruit 20-30*
representative end users.
2.Identify 30-50 content items
to be categorized.
3.Participants sort the content
into groupings that make
sense to them.
Two types:
open closed
*unless you’re using a
random subset
method, in which case
you need many more

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• Go as granular as you can.
• Avoid leading phrases in
card titles or descriptions.
• Consider carefully how long
people are willing to
participate.

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14. • Too fast
• Too slow
• Slackers
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• age
• gender
• seniority
• job title
• etc.

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Questions it addresses
üHow well or poorly can
users find things in a
proposed hierarchy?
üDoes the terminology
we’ve chosen make
sense?

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Incredibly
inexpensive
Done very quickly with remote
evaluation tools.
Asynchronous, so scheduling is
not an issue.
tree testing All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018
just like
card
sorting!
q
https://dgcooley.optimalworkshop.com/treejack/clothingtreetest

20. tree testing
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1. Recruit 20-30 representative
end users.
2. Create your tree.
3. Create tasks for participants
to find specific content
elements.
4. Define the “right” answers.
Be careful with task
phrasing!
All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018

21. • Too fast
• Too slow
• Slackers
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tree testing All the IA! | @dgcooley | #AgileMW2018
• age
• gender
• seniority
• job title
• etc.

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easy
inexpensive
fast
evaluativeformative

26. about
DGCooley & Co.
Danielle Cooley
BE, Vanderbilt University
MSHFID, Bentley University
Owner & Principal
linkedin.com/in/dgcooley
We help organizations in a variety of industries establish and implement
strategies for quality, scalable customer experience research practices.
Partner practitioners draw from a diverse set of
experiences in a variety of industries, including
higher education, enterprise applications, medical
devices, financial services, and social media.
They provide niche expertise in such areas as
accessibility, quantitative research, visual design,
analytics, and more.

27. danielle@dgcooley.com dgcooley.com
thank you