What We Test
Card sorting is a usability technique that asks the intended audiences of a site to categorize the content of the site based off of their own personal preferences. Card sorting can be categorized or uncategorized.
In categorized card sorting, the tester creates predetermined ‘buckets’ for content to go into – e.g. the links from a primary navigation menu, for example. The participants then take the content of the site, presented to them as cards – and place those cards with the top-level items that make most sense to them.
In uncategorized card sorting testing, the participants group content together, and then name the bucket with whatever title they deem appropriate.
This Test Targets
- User Experience through Information Architecture
Information Architecture for large scale organizations tend to be driven by several factors, most of which are often not conducive to the user experience. The first is to mirror the institutional organization and its org charts, which might not be transparent to an outside audience. The second is to base itself off of the traditional models of the site or on the design of other sites for peer institutions. While this is generally a good benchmark, it may not accurately reflect the thought process of the user.
By removing the process of determining the structure from the biases and preconceptions of the content editors and allowing input from the audience into building structures and work flows that make sense to them, we enhance the usability of the site and the ease of its use.
What do we gain from testing? What’s the ROI?
- Increased goal completions on websites for prospective patients, increasing the revenues of the hospital and clinics
- Increased goal completions for students and prospective students, increasing the satisfaction of our base audience