Gaining User Insight: A Case Study Illustrating the Card Sort Technique

In spring 1999, Cornell University Library performed a user study to help determine how users would organize a set of concepts to be included in an online digital library help system. The study employed the card sort technique, in which users impose their own organization on a set of concepts. The card sort technique proved to be a highly effective and valuable method for gathering user input on organizational groupings prior to total system design. The authors present Cornell’s experience as a case study with detailed instructions for conducting and evaluating the card sort technique.