Card sorting is a technique used to understand how users perceive the logical relationships between elements of a website. It involves having representative users sort cards with elements into groups. The results are then analyzed to inform the site structure. There are open and closed card sorting methods, with open using unlabeled cards near the start of a project, and closed using labels near the end. Free and open source card sorting tools exist for various operating systems to facilitate the process and analysis.

1. Card-sorting tools
MUX 1: Benny Skogberg

2. Why?
Card-sorting is a great way to learn how
users, or prospective users, of a website
perceive the logical relationships among
the various elements of the site.

3. Relationships matter
Users - Logical Relationships - Elements

4. Relationships matter
Users - Logical Relationships - Elements

5. How?
1. Define the cards to be sorted.
2. Have representative users sort the cards.
3. Analyze the results.

6. Open & Closed
Open Card Sort Closed Card Sort
• No Labels • Labels
• Near project start • Near end of project
Project Timeline

7. Tools
Webb Windows Macintosh Linux
Free
Open source:
License

8. xSort for Mac

9. d y
S t u
o f
e ct
bj
O

10. d y
S t u
o f
e ct
bj
O

11. Create test

12. 1. Define cards

13. Test at Runtime

14. Test at Runtime
2. Representative
user {

17. Test end

18. 3. Analyze the Result

19. Resultat

20. Resultat
?

21. Cluster Tree?

22. Cluster Analysis
Cluster analysis or clustering is the
assignment of a set of observations into
subsets (called clusters) so that observations
in the same cluster are similar in some
sense. Clustering is a method of
unsupervised learning, and a common
technique for statistical data analysis used in
many fields, including machine learning, data
mining, pattern recognition, image analysis

23. Cluster Analysis
Cards that join together sooner are more
similar to each other than those that join
together later

24. Cluster Analysis
Cards that join together sooner are more
similar to each other than those that join
together later
Join sooner = more similar

25. Gestalt principles
✤ Figure
✤ Similarity
✤ Proximity
✤ Closure
✤ Continuity
✤ Symmetry
DePaul University, Chicago: http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

26. Gestalt principles
✤ Figure Similar?
✤ Similarity
✤ Proximity
✤ Closure
✤ Continuity
✤ Symmetry
Anders Borg Vincent Vega
DePaul University, Chicago: http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm

27. Cluster Tree

28. Cluster Tree

29. Cluster Tree
Dissimilarity [Olikhet]

30. Result
Dissimilarity [Olikhet]

31. Next step: Labeling
• Är student
• Vill studera
• Hitta Schema
• Studentportalen

32. Next step: Labeling
?
• Är student
• Vill studera
• Hitta Schema
• Studentportalen

33. Card Sorting Tools
thx