Usability testing methods: Card classification

Article Description: Usability test method: Card classification.

This article will introduce you as a usability testing method: Card classification. This approach is also to find valuable improvements through the collection and classification of information.

Card classification is a practical usability testing method, which can classify and organize a lot of information, and can find valuable information elements from the complicated information architecture.

Why do you use card sorting?

There may be a lot of designers wondering why to use card sorting for testing, because there are many other usability testing methods.

The reason is that card classification is a free and inexpensive test method that can be used to help determine the best site layout, navigation structure, site content text, how to arrange text blocks, and so on.

Card tests are used to classify information, and designers find valuable trends in this information. Web designers use these data to find solutions to improve the conversion rate of the site.

Card testing mainly through card sorting, card sorting method can help designers to answer a number of questions.

Here are just a few examples:

What is the difference between the choices of each user (target audience or demographic)?

Compare the choice of target audiences

How many categories is the information and content of a website divided into?

How many paragraphs can you get the best results for a Web page?

How should I design navigation?

How many classifications should the website have? What are the categories under each navigation?

How do you name the contents of the text?

The design process uses card classifications to predict and help answer these questions.

To create a powerful user experience.

Participant in card classification usability test

Participants preferably include netizens, family, employees, friends or acquaintances.

The key is that the participant must be a similar target user.

For example, if your target users are often on the internet, some testers who do not use the computer are ineffective test groups.

The target audience for a website is the most important for a website, and no site wants to work hard to get a lot of target users.

Card classifications are categorized on the basis of the target audience, including the age of the user, the technical hobby, the job, and so on.

Card Sort Type

There are two types of card sorting methods: Turn on and off sorting.

Card sorting is an Open card classification that participants will test on the site as a whole or most of them. Give the test user a card and then let them sort the cards according to their feelings.

Open card classification is primarily used to test new Web sites.

It can be used to test the overall layout of the site, navigation and structure information, especially in the Web site feedback, the use of text is appropriate.

The open card test mainly tests the following content:

is the website text information use correct, convenient to understand?

Does the site require more or less categories, such as the proper navigation level?

How many subclasses or groupings are required?

Is the content of the bread-cutting navigation logical?

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