Following from last week’s discussion about UX design tools, here are a couple of free webapps that allow you to set up card sorting exercises and analyze the results.
For those who may not know, a card sort is an exercise often used by Information Architects and other UX professionals to reveal natural patterns in the way a specific group of users categorize information. By asking research participants (ideally actual users of the system we’re designing) to categorize units of information, we can more accurately evaluate our assumptions about that information and its target audience.
OptimalSort – This is a quick and simple tool for setting up card sorts, even with a large number of items to be sorted. Open and closed sorting methods are available.
Websort – This card sorting tool has a new beta version available that allows images to be used as sortable items. The interface seems more polished than that of OptimalSort, but the use of images means users won’t be able to see as many items on the screen at once.
Have you found a better tool for running card sorts or used either of these tools for actual research?
One Comment
I have found that WebSort is much easier to use than Optimal Sort. Websort is easier to set up and send to participants. The reports are clear and can be showed to clients.
I haven’t found any other card sort tools online, but I’d be interested in seeing if there are any other tools. I have had a lot of problems using the excel templates that some researchers have put together for compiling and analyzing card sort data.