Related links

Technology inventory

Borrow technology website

uxEd article about this project

UX Cookbook recipes

Card sorting

What we did and why

We wanted to validate the categories of technology items before we migrate the Borrow technology section of the website to the refreshed site. We conducted an open card sort with users from the participant pool.

How we did it

We chose eight categories of items to include in the card sort. Each category was chosen because it included at least one item that we were unsure how to categorize. We excluded self-explanatory categories, such as “Calculators,” from the card sort.

We created a list of 25 tech items in Optimal Workshop and asked participants to sort them into categories. This was an open card sort, meaning that participants could create as many categories as they liked and choose a name for each category. We asked participants to sort any items they were unfamiliar with into a category called “I don’t know.”

After the card sort, we analyzed the data using a spreadsheet and analytics in Optimal Workshop. We looked specifically for patterns in how items were sorted, patterns in names of categories, and differences between the original categories and common card sort categories.

What we found

• 23 users participated in the study
  • 47.8% of participants were undergraduate students, 26.1% were graduate students, and 34.8% were faculty, staff, or community members
• Many participants created one category for laptops and tablets, even though these had originally been placed in separate categories.
• Many participants created one large category with a name like “accessories.” This category tended to include items that had previously been separated into several different categories.
• Participants tended to group monitor, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse in the same category, even though these three items had previously been listed in three separate categories.
• Participants often used words in their category names that had not been part of the original category names. Some common words were “adaptors” and “power.”
• The actual agreement dendrogram in Optimal Workshop was helpful for seeing which items tended to be grouped together.

Part of the agreement dendrogram from Optimal Workshop.

What we did next

Based on the findings, we developed four main recommendations:

• List laptops and tablets in separate categories. (Even though many participants created a single category for these items, we recommended keeping them separate because we wanted each category card on the website to show just one type of item.)
• Create two categories for laptop/tablet peripherals: “Adaptors & power cords” and “Laptop/tablet accessories.”
• Put the items monitor, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse in the same category, “Laptop & tablet accessories.”
• Allow items to be listed in multiple categories.

We recommended sorting the items into seven categories: laptops, tablets, adaptors & power cords, laptop & tablet accessories, audio/visual & recording equipment, scanners, and maker tools.

Category recommendations

Now what?

We met with Travis Teetor, Morgan Hyde, Peter Schwarz, and other AIS colleagues on 6/30/2022 to present the recommendations and discuss next steps. AIS colleagues then worked with UX to incorporate the changes to the Tech lending spreadsheet.

We started drafting guidelines for how to categorize items that the library acquires in the future.

<aside> 🗓️ Last updated: 8/15/2022

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