INMA_A01.QXD

 Related content can be grouped to measure the effectiveness of a web site as part of

design for analysis, which is also explained below.

Card sorting

Using card sorting is a way in which users can become actively involved in the develop-

ment process of information architecture.

Card sorting is a useful approach since web sites are frequently designed from the per-

spective of the designer rather than the information user, leading to labels, subject

grouping and categories that are not intuitive to the user. Card sorting or web classifica-

tionshould categorise web objects (e.g documents) in order to facilitate information task

completion or information goals the user has set.

Robertson (2003) explains an approach to card sorting which identifies the following

questions when using card sorting to aid the process of modelling web classification systems:

 Do the users want to see the information grouped by: subject, task, business or cus-

tomer groupings, or type of information?

 What are the most important items to put on the main menu?

 How many menu items should there be, and how deep should it go?

 How similar or different are the needs of the users throughout the organisation?

Selected groups of users or representatives will be given index cards with the following

written on them, depending on the aim of the card sorting process.

 Types of documents

 Organisational key words and concepts

 Document titles

 Descriptions of documents

 Navigation labels.

The user groups may then be asked to:

 Group together cards that they feel relate to each other;

 Select cards that accurately reflect a given topic or area;

 Organise cards in terms of hierarchy – high-level terms (broad) to low-level terms.

At the end of the session the analyst must take the cards away and map the results into a

spreadsheet to find out the most popular terms, descriptions and relationships. If two or

more different groups are used the results should be compared and reasons for differ-

ences should be analysed.

Blueprints

According to Rosenfeld and Morville (2002), blueprints:

Show the relationships between pages and other content components, and can be used

to portray organization, navigation and labelling systems.

They are often thought of, and referred to, as ‘site maps’ or ‘site structure diagrams’ and

have much in common with these, except that they are used as a design device clearly

showing grouping of information and linkages between pages, rather than a page on the

web site to assist navigation.

Refer to Figure 7.6 for an example of a site structure diagram for a toy manufacturer

web site which shows the groupings of content and an indication of the process of task

completion also.

RESEARCHING SITE USERS’ REQUIREMENTS

Card sorting or web

classification

The process of

arranging a way of

organising objects on

the web site in a

consistent manner.

Blueprints

Show the relationships

between pages and

other content

components, and can

be used to portray

organisation,

navigation and labelling

systems

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