Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Card sorting

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, card sorting means: A research method in which participants group topics written on cards into categories that make sense to them, showing how users expect content to be organised.

In Turkish: kart sıralama, kart gruplama

How it is used

In an open card sort, participants create and name their own groups; in a closed card sort, the categories are given. It can be done with paper cards or online tools and is used when designing menus and categories.

Example sentences

  1. Card sorting showed that users expect 'Returns' under 'Orders', not under 'Help'.

  2. We did online card sorting with 30 participants before redesigning the menu.

Common collocations

  • open card sorting
  • closed card sort
  • run a card sort
  • card sorting session
  • information architectureThe way content and features in a website or app are organised, grouped and labelled so that people can find what they need and understand where they are.
  • tree testingA research method that checks whether people can find items in a site's structure by showing them only a text menu tree, without any visual design.
  • sitemapA file, usually sitemap.xml, that lists the pages of a website so that search engines can find and crawl them more easily.
  • navigationThe menus, links, tabs and other elements that let people move around a website or app and understand where they are.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: