[Sigia-l] Rant about bad IA practice.

[Stewart Dean]

Alex

I'll let it drop after this. This is public response.  I've sliced off the stuff about best practice and focused upon card sorting. I hope it illstrates why I don't think you make a strong case for card sorting as a 'good way to do most website'.

> I happen to use Card Sorting a *lot* for a lot of
> different things, doing them in a variety of ways. I use them to guide
> a steering commitee in the right direction through UCD. I use them to
> design navigation and direction of websites, intranets and
> applications. I use them to create consensus for semantic schemas
> across working groups. I use them for semi-automatic validation of
> millions of subject headings. I use them together with profiles to
> make business owners aware of blind spots in their plans. I use them
> as brainstorming tools in metings. I use them to create
> cross-divisional understanding of priorities. And many more; I adapt
> the basics of the method to suit what I need, because I happen to
> understand (most humbly :) what it is all about.

You say above you use card sorting claim to understand it.  This doesnt defend card sorting as you miss out all the good stuff.  Why do you use card soring?  How do you see it fit in with the process? 

For example how do you do your 'semi-automatic validation' ?  

If you are saying you use card sorting to check nominclature then I would say why not do it directly and put things in context. I feel card sorting requires a lot of context to make it work, context that is there when you present nominclature in situ. 

Is creating a process flow using steps on bits of card / post it notes card sorting?  I don't think so.  Is the correlation of ideas onto bits of card and then grouping those ideas card sorting? Again I don't think so. The same exercise can be done using a flip chart.  Maybe what you are doing isnt realy card sorting as I and others know it.

Perhaps  it would be helpful if you said how you go about using card sorting rather than what you use it for. 

Stewart Dean