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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples Steffen Schilb
(Steffen_at_cardsort.net)
IATagung Frankfurt 28./29.05.2005 Steffen
Schilb
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Outline

1. Introduction
2. Card Sorting The Standard Method
3. Cluster Analysis
4. Computer-Based Card Sorting
5. Card Sorting Variants
6. Conclusion
7. References
8. Questions and Discussion

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction
1
Introduction
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction Why do People browse the Internet?
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction Why do People browse the Internet?

• Typical User Behaviour (Wodtke, 2003)
• Search for specific Information
• Complete a Task
• Browsing around

Problem
Information cannot be found
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
IntroductionWhy does this happen?

• Hierarchy, Navigation Scheme
• No intuitive Navigation Scheme, Hierarchy
• People expect Content somewhere else

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
IntroductionWhy does this happen?

• Misunderstood Wording
• Inconsistent Terms
• English Vs. German
• Ambiguous Terms

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction
How can this be improved?
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction How can this be improved?

• With Card Sorting
• Users group the Contents and develop a Hierarchy
  themselves
• Helps to understand how Users group Information
• Can provide insight into mental Model
• Serves as helpful Input to specify IA

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction

• Benfits of Card Sorting
• Simple, Cheap, Quick
• Established
• Involves Users
• Flexible
• Provides good Results

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Introduction

• Usage Areas
• Designing a new Site
• Designing a new Area of a Site
• Redesigning a Site
• Early Stages of Prototyping
• Large Websites

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting The Standard Method
2
Card Sorting The Standard Method
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting The Standard Method
Preparation
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting The Standard Method

• Preparation
• Write down the Topics
• Write each Content on a Card
• Size of Cards should be manageable
• Number of Cards should be manageable (30-100)
• Label is extremely important

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Preparation

• Same Level of Detail

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Preparation

• Cover one distinguished Content

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Preparation

• Describe the Content in a unambiguous Way

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Preparation

• Before the Exercise starts...
• Define Test Conditions (Single, Group,...)
• Select Participants
• Invite Participants

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Conducting the Exercise
Conducting the Exercise
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Conducting the Exercise

• Procedure
• Welcome Participants
• Introduce Card Sorting Method
• Give Instructions
• Sorting out Cards
• Sorting into multiple Categories

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Conducting the Exercise

• Step 1 Sorting the Cards

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Conducting the Exercise

• Step 2 Finalizing the Sorting

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Conducting the Exercise

• Step 3 Labeling the Clusters

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Closed Card Sorting

• Variant Closed Card Sorting
• Categories are predefined
• Top-down Approach
• Redesign/Relaunch of Websites

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Analysis
(Manual) Analysis
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Analysis

• Analysis Methods
• Documention
• Data-Eyeballing
• Spreadsheet Analysis
• (Clusteranalysis)

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Analysis

• Data-Eyeballing
• Look for dominant Organization Schemes (Patterns)
• Adjust Scheme to make kinds of Categories
  consistent
• Set asside the odd Categories that dont match

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Data-Eyeballing

• Result Simple Taxonomy

Sport
Politik
Wirtschaft
Fussball 1. Bundesliga 2. Bundesliga ... Tenni
s Weltrangliste ATP-Turniere ... Basketball N
BA ...
Aktuelles Aus aller Welt Deutschland ... Innen
politik News ... Außenpolitik Europa ...
Deutschland News ... Weltweit News ... Börse
News DAX Dow-Jones ...
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Data-Eyeballing

• Attributes of Data-Eyeballing
• Efficient
• Easy and fast
• But
• Highly subjective

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Analysis

• Spreadsheet Analysis

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Analysis

• Spreadsheet Analysis
• More information can be found at
• Boxes and Arrows
• Analyzing Card Sort Results with a Spreadsheet
  Template

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis
3
Cluster Analysis
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis

• Cluster Analysis
• Statistical Analysis Method for identifying
  Groups
• Most common Analysis Method
• Mostly done with Computer
• Procedure
• Step 1 Distance Matrix
• Step 2 Tree Diagram

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis
Distance Matrix
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Example

Participant 1
Participant 2
Participant 3
Projekte AGs Aktuelle Projekte Studentisches
Fachbereiche Insitute Campus Lageplan Anreise
Aktivitäten AGs Aktuelle Projekte Studium Fac
hbereiche Institute Allgemeine
Infos Lageplan Anreise
Aktivitäten AGs Studium Fachbereiche Aktuelle
Projekte Institute Informationen Lageplan Anr
eise
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Distance Matrix P1

AGs Aktuelle Projekte Fach-bereiche Institute Lageplan Anreise
AGs 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Aktuelle Projekte 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Fach-bereiche 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00
Insitute 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Lageplan 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00
Anreise 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Distance Matrix P1

AGs Aktuelle Projekte Fach-bereiche Institute Lageplan Anreise
AGs 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Aktuelle Projekte 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Fach-bereiche 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00
Insitute 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Lageplan 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00
Anreise 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Distance Matrix P1 P2

AGs Aktuelle Projekte Fach-bereiche Institute Lageplan Anreise
AGs 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Aktuelle Projekte 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Fach-bereiche 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00
Insitute 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Lageplan 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00
Anreise 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Example

Participant 1
Participant 2
Participant 3
Projekte AGs Aktuelle Projekte Studentisches
Fachbereiche Insitute Campus Lageplan Anreise
Aktivitäten AGs Aktuelle Projekte Studium Fac
hbereiche Institute Allgemeine
Infos Lageplan Anreise
Aktivitäten AGs Studium Fachbereiche Aktuelle
Projekte Institute Informationen Lageplan Anr
eise
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• Distance Matrix (P1P2)P3

AGs Aktuelle Projekte Fach-bereiche Institute Lageplan Anreise
AGs 1.00 0.33 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Aktuelle Projekte 0.33 1.00 0.67 0.67 1.00 1.00
Fach-bereiche 1.00 0.67 1.00 0.00 1.00 1.00
Insitute 1.00 0.67 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Lageplan 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00
Anreise 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• How to calculate

T
?
Kt(At/Bt)
KF(AF/BF)
t1
T
K Relative Coordinate A Relative
X-Coordinate B Relative Y-Coordinate F Final
Matrix T Number of Participants t Participant
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Distance Matrix

• From Distance Matrix to Tree Diagrams
• Single Linkage Algorithm
• Complete Linkage Algorithm
• Average Linkage Algorithm

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• Distance Matrix

AGs ASTA Aktuelle Projekte Alumni
AGs 1.00 0.69 0.42 0.83
ASTA 0.69 1.00 0.92 0.81
Aktuelle Projekte 0.42 0.92 1.00 0.86
Alumni 0.83 0.81 0.86 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• How it works
• Pair (Aktuelle Projekte/AGs) is most frequently
  grouped together (58)
• Combine Pair to one Cluster and calculate new
  Distances
• d(E CE1 CE2) mind(ECE1), d(ECE2)
• d(ASTA AGs Aktuelle Projekte)
  mind(ASTAAGs), d(ASTA Aktuelle Projekte)
• min0.69, 0.92 0.69

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• New Distance Matrix

AGs Aktuelle Projekte ASTA Alumni
AGs Aktuelle Projekte 1.00 0.69 0.83
ASTA 0.69 1.00 0.81
Aktuelle Projekte 0.83 0.81 1.00
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• Steps
• AGsAktuelle Projekte 0.42
• (AGsAktuelle Projekte)ASTA 0.69
• ((AGsAktuelle Projekte)ASTA)Alumni 0.81

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• Final Dendogram

AGs Aktuelle Projekte ASTA Alumni
0.69
0.42
0.81
1.00
0.00
0.50
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Single Linkage Algorithm

• Attributes
• min0.690.920.69
• Nearest-Neighboor-Method
• Minimum-Distance Rule
• Chaining Phenomenon
• Isolates Outliners (Most important Attribute)

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Complete Linkage Algorithm

• Attributes
• max0.690.920.92
• Furthest-Neighboor-Method
• A lot of small Groups are formed
• Large groups are mostly formed at the End
• Does not identify Outliners well

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Cluster Analysis Average Linkage Algorithm

• Attributes
• 0,5x(0.69) 0,5x(0.92) 0.80
• Takes mean Distance
• No Chaining Phenonemon

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting
4
Computer-Based Card Sorting
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting

• Some Tools
• EZSort
• CardSort

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting EZSort
EZSort
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting EZSort

• Features
• Most common Card Sorting Tool
• Developed by IBM in 1998
• USort for Sorting the Cards (Open Card Sort)
• EZCalc for Clusteranalysis
• Windows-only

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting CardSort
CardSort
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting CardSort

• Features
• Developed in 2003
• www.cardsort.net
• Allows only Card Sorting (open and closed)
• Analysis with EZCalc
• Cross-plattform

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting

• Other Tools
• CardZort
• http//condor.depaul.edu/jtoro/cardzort/
• CardSword
• http//cardsword.sourceforge.net/
• WebSort
• http//www.websort.net/

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants
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Card Sorting Variants
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants

• Card Sorting Variants
• Card Sorting with Subgroups
• Labeling the Contents
• Rating the Contents

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Card Sorting with Subgroups
Card Sorting with Subgroups
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Card Sorting with Subgroups

• Attributes
• Adding an additional Sorting Step
• First Forming Clusters (Subgroups)
• Second Forming Major Clusters
• Third Labeling the (Major) Clusters

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Labeling the Contents
Labeling the Contents
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Labeling the Contents

• Labeling the Contents
• Cards represent Content Descriptions
• Users label the Contents

On this page, students register online for their
courses.
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Rating the Contents
Rating the Contents Gerry McGovern (2002)
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Rating the Contents

• Step 2

• Step 1

Begriff 20
Begriff 23
Begriff 14
Begriff 6
Begriff 7
Begriff 24
Begriff 4
Begriff 16
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Conclusion
6
Conclusion
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Conclusion

• Summary
• Card Sorting is an easy and cheap Method to get
  an Insight into the users mental Model
• Many different Variants
• Not a silver Bullet
• Generates Suggestions for Navigation, Hierarchy,
  Wording

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Conclusion

• Summary
• Can be done paper-based or computer-based
• Computer-based Method is better for Analysis
• -gt Clusteranalysis
• Manual Method is easier for Users to handle

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Conclusion

• Keep in Mind
• Only for large Websites
• Users Tasks are not integrated
• May capture Surface Characteristics only

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
References
7
References
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
References

• Links, Books, Articles
• IAWiki Card Sorting
• http//www.iawiki.net/CardSorting
• Boxes and Arrows
• http//www.boxesandarrows.com
• James Robertson
• http//www.steptwo.au
• Donna Maurer
• http//www.maadmob.net/donna/

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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Card-Based Classification
Evaluation
Thank you!
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Computer-Based Card Sorting
8
Questions and Discussion
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Card Sorting for Information Architecture Usage
Areas, Methods and Samples
Card Sorting Variants Card-Based Classification
Evaluation
Further Questions? Contact me! Steffen_at_cardsort.ne
t
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