ID/LXD, meet UXD Part 2: Card Sorting

One of the most valuable exercises I employed when serving as Information Architect at a previous job is called card sorting. In this activity, a complete inventory of content is tallied for the end product or system. Each content item is written on an index card, and end users are asked how they would sort the cards into categories. (In my experience the exercise was always conducted using paper and pen, with end users physically moving and sorting the cards, although I suppose if geography were an issue an online system could be used as well.) Users were also asked to create new cards to include content that they felt to be important that was not already represented by the existing set of cards.

Each user would inevitably categorize content in slightly different ways, but patterns did start to emerge. Some of the time, our assumptions about appropriate categorization and linkages were confirmed. However, there were always views on how end users related content elements to one another that were quite unexpected. These finding were the most exciting and insightful of the exercise.

The resulting categorizations were then analyzed to identify common patterns and variance. Both the common patterns and surprising outcomes gave us insight into how the users viewed the content, and informed design decisions that ultimately made for an experience that was intuitive to those using it.

What can we, as Instructional Designers/Learning Experience Designers, take away from this? It may offer a way of approaching some design challenges from a different perspective.

A card sorting exercise can be a great way of taking inventory of existing training materials and drawing connections and parallels among them. We often work with clients who have a vast vault of old materials that could potentially be reused or plugged into new curriculum designs. Clear categorization and relationship mapping among the materials can help define prerequisites and different learning paths. We can also better identify ways to repurpose existing materials and identify gaps when defining new curriculum.

Another thought that comes to mind is an activity common to our standard practices: task analysis. Interviews and observation can be effective in determining how experts do what they do. Now, think about conducting a task analysis from a different perspective. What if experts were approached with a card sorting exercise to help us gain insight into their thought processes and reliance on knowledge for each step within a task? You might be surprised to see how the relationships are articulated through sorting cards.

My colleagues don’t know this yet, but I’m planning to spring a card sorting exercise on them some time next week. Well, guess the cat is out of the bag now. In the meantime, I welcome your input and experiences in using card sorting for learning design!