Card Sorting

Eurostar Card Sorting Case Study

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:44:04 +1000

Eurostar Card Sorting Case Study

In September 2005, our company—Etre—was engaged by Eurostar to help redevelop its global web presence. Eurostar is the high-speed train service that connects the UK with mainland Europe and has been named "World’s Leading Rail Service" at the World Travel Awards every year since 1998.

The project was extremely ambitious in nature—the main objectives being to make significant improvements to the usability of the company’s various websites; to introduce a host of new travel booking features; and to incorporate a new global brand identity—in a timeframe of just six months.

An important part of the programme involved assisting Eurostar in redesigning its global information architecture—a taxonomy that serves not only as the backbone of the company's main website, www.eurostar.com, but as a template for the company's 27 country- and region-specific websites too. In order to ensure that the redesigned version was as user-friendly as possible, we decided to make card sorting an integral part of the redevelopment process.

Card Sorting: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 09:42:39 +1000

UX Matters have a new article on card sorting, by Sam Ng: Card Sorting: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned.

It is a great article, not about how to do card sorting, but about different situations in which Sam has applied card sorting and clients' expectations of it.

Online sorter boosts usability

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:33:37 +1000

Card sorting has made it into Computerworld: Online sorter boosts usability

Congratulations to the guys at Optimal Usability.

An interview with me

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:45:22 +1000

I had a chat with Sam Ng from Optimal Usability recently about - get this - card sorting. Here it is - it turned out pretty well:
An interview with a card sorting pro

Participate in a card sort?

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:15:41 +1000

I mentioned last week that there is a new card sorting tool available called OptimalSort.

I've set up a card sort and would love you to participate - give you a chance to play with the tool. The card sort is for the IA Summit and the content is conference presentations. I used this content to test other software tools last year.

If you can spare some time (15 minutes or so), please go here and do the card sort:

IA Summit card sort using OptimalSort

The fine print:

I recently did some work on this tool but don't have an ongoing interest in it (except that I'm friends with the people who do)

I may use example outputs in my book

I will use the activity outputs as input to the IA Summit website, which I manage

I will not disclose your name, email address or other identifying details in the book

I won't use your personal details for anything other than this activity

The card sort will be open until 15 July 2007

I tested other tools last year using this same content set and a call for volunteers

A new card sorting tool

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:07:45 +1000

My friends at Optimal Usability have released their brand-spanking new card sorting tool into beta release (it's free until August).

Their tool, called OptimalSort, caters for open and closed card sorts. The sorting interface is a spatial drag-and-drop.

The thing I like best (and I will fully disclose that I was involved in this, so I should like it) is the analysis options. No stinkin dendrograms here, but lists of category names, detailed participant results and lots of ways to explore the data.

Go try OptimalSort.

Card sort analysis spreadsheet

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:52:09 +1000

Over the past few years I have been slowly developing and refining a spreadsheet I use for analysis of card sorts. I have used it on many projects and find it invaluable for helping me manage the data and spot patterns.

I use it to analyse results from physical (i.e. not software) open card sorts. It could quite easily be used for closed card sorts as well, though I haven't done that as I don't do closed sorts.

I have refined it to the point where I'm happy with it, and have prepared instructions for it. The instructions and spreadsheet are completely free for you to use however you wish.

Files

There are four files available:

Card sort analysis spreadsheet instructions (PDF, 715KB)
Empty card sort analysis spreadsheet template for 20 participants (XLS, 4.1MB)
Example spreadsheet with content (XLS, 2.0MB): based on papers from the IA Summit
Empty card sort analysis spreadsheet template for 40 participants (ZIP, 1MB)

If you use it, please let me know how you go!

Notes

Some other random notes:

I have done everything I know to make the PDF screen-reader friendly, but please let me know if it isn't
I use a PC and know it works on a PC. I have had mixed response from friends with Macs - for some it works, some it doesn't. If it doesn't, please let me know and I'll explore further
In the comments below is an answer to the question "What do I do with sub-categories". I'll include this in the instructions next time I revise them

Screenshots

Entering the card names:

Summary of all cards and standardised categories:

Analysis of categories:

Visualisation of results:

A new article on card sorting

Tue, 15 May 2007 18:53:59 +1000

Digital Web have a new article on card sorting, by Ruth Stalker-Firth: Anyone for a game of cards

I really am a morning person

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 22:46:05 +1000

Last year I talked to many authors about different aspects of writing. I talked to Dan Saffer about how he managed to write his book while working a full-time job. He told me he wrote for an hour every morning before doing anything else (I hope I have this right Dan).

So given I'm a morning person and have had trouble assigning full days (paid & community work jumps in) I thought I'd try this out. (Oh, I should also tell you that I don't mind coming home and having nice dinner and a glass or two of nice wine which doesn't make for doing anything useful)

Last week I woke up early four days (and went to bed early on corresponding nights). I worked on easy things last week - documentation for an analysis tool I'll make public soon.

But this morning I woke up and wrote. I made a cup of tea (organic, fair trade - have to do routine right) and sat down to write. An hour and thousand decent words later I stopped. Cool! This may just work.

Yes, I am working on it

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:23:02 +1000

I posted a few months ago and said I'd be getting back into the book after the IA Summit was over. Well, that promise has come true and I am writing again. It is interesting looking at a manuscript after a few months of not seeing it at all. I can easily spot problems I hadn't noticed before.

All RM books now have a tiny notification form - if you'd like to know when the book is released, please go and fill out the card sorting book notification form.

It's so quiet here...no card sorting?

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:45:35 +1000

It has been a long while since I posted anything about the progress of the card sorting book.

Rest assured, I am still here, and still writing. I'm just doing it a bit slowly, in between crazy bouts of work for the IA Summit. As soon as Summit is over I'm going to get stuck back into writing (I'll probably re-start in the airport - after all, airports are where most of writing has happened so far) and get the book finished and available.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me case studies and desperately asked when the book will be ready. It is hugely encouraging.

New survey - variants to the card sorting technique

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:44:34 +1000

I'm writing a chapter on variations to the standard card sorting technique and am running a survey to learn about the ways you have used card sorting in a way that may be different to the standard technique.

There are 7 simple questions, and I estimate that the survey will take you about 5 minutes to complete.

I will share summarised results from this survey here on the website and mostly likely in the book itself; I'll let you know when they are available. I won't share your name or any other personal information.

Here's the link to the survey:

Variants to the card sorting technique

Did you say this?

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:32:17 +1000

In the first survey I ran for the book, someone made this great comment:

"The boss simply went through them going yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, putting them in piles whilst the junior looked on. The boss didn't really think much, and the junior just nodded."

Does that sound like something you may have said? If so, please contact me as I'd like to include the quote in the book and would like to attribute it (cardsorting at maadmob dot net)

Card sorting interview on UXPod

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:07:43 +1000

Recently I talked with Gerry Gaffney, from Information & Design for his UXPod show about card sorting. The interview is now ready. In it I talk about some of my approaches to card sorting, why I don't do closed card sorts or use dendrograms and what you should do if doing a card sort for the first time.

There are a lot of other great interviews & discussions about UX topics, so go listen to those as well.

How to get a book written

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:43:05 +1000

I figured out the magic secret to getting great chunks of writing done. Here it is:

move to somewhere near Canberra
book a very early morning flight out of Canberra, in the middle of winter
miss the text message from the airline telling you the flight has been cancelled due to fog
drive all the way to the airport (45 mins drive), find out that the flight has been cancelled and re-book for a flight 2.5 hours later
sit in the qantas club lounge for 4.5 hours drinking tea, coffee, hot chocolate and juice, with earphones in to drown out the chatter and where the internet is too expensive to bother
Write

I got so much done. Much more than at home.