[Sigia-l] My card sorting book is underway!

[Listera]

Fred Beecher:

> Card sorting won't be an anachronism until people stop using the Web
> to find information, which I can't imagine ever happening.

Can you elaborate on why you're equating card sorting with info access?
 
> What techniques do we use to determine users' mental models when we're
> designing for rich applications that focus on manipulating something other
> than "information."

On a muggy Tuesday afternoon I'd wager that nowhere in the iPod/iTunes/iTMS
chain card sorting was used in any critical/conceptual way. :-)

I find the notion of structuring dynamic applications on the basis of info
categories a bit...anachronistic.

To put it bluntly, I start with the goal/task/flow at hand and reverse
engineer the process. In fact, the more transparent and invisible the
info/data structure the better the flow/application.

As to users' mental models, I find nothing better than observation and
engaging users in a free-flowing conversation to discover patterns and, most
importantly, insights into what they need/want beyond what they say they
need/want. I want to see/hear/smell the user. I want their give-and-take,
body motions, gestures, pauses. They tell me oceans more than card sorts.

----
Ziya

Usability >  Simplify the Solution
Design >  Simplify the Problem