A lot has been made of card sorting in developing site information architectures. In short, card sorting involves having users sort content into intuitive groups. Content categories or types are written on flash cards and users are encouraged to sort them according to their own intuitive preferences.
“Ask them how they would like to find the information. ...asking them, from a user’s point of view and taking away the organizational silo’d glasses, how would you like to find the information logically?” writes Carm Porco, GM & VP of Prescient Digital Media. “For example, in an intranet, if I wanted to fill out my expense sheet, would I like to go to employee forms or an employee central area or go by way of the old process and find the department that has the form and look under their silo’d site.”
KISS - Keep it simple stupid
Information architecture should be focused on making it easier to understand and navigate content -- as quickly as possible. The above image was one of those that was delivered when I did a Google image search for "information architecture." My reaction to the information architect that (hypothetically)handed this to me... "Well, it sure is pretty, and clearly you're a very smart person... but you're fired."
Keep it simple. For example, I would never have an architecture with more than 6-8 parent groups unless I was forced at gunpoint -- or bribed. Card sorting is an exercise in simplicity and well help keep the focus simple. It itself is a simplistic exercise in understanding how employees think about content and navigation, from the employee perspective. A perspective that cannot be obtained through focus groups and user surveys.
However, card sorting shouldn’t be done at the expense of best practices and professional information architecture (IA). I would never start from scratch a first attempt of an information architecture with card sorting. I would use card sorting to revise and tweak a professionally prepared IA. Few organizations could afford to do cart sorting exercises with a scientifically representative sample of employees (100 or 200), nor should they be expected to.
Firstly, build a full intranet plan or blueprint – including strategic directives such as a mission and goals – and then have a professional craft the first draft of an information architecture based upon that plan (and the preceding intranet assessment). Once you’ve made your first attempt at an IA, and then take the IA to working sessions with your key stakeholders to focus on their areas (e.g. HR for the human resources section or site). It is at this point, when you’re engaging stakeholder groups that it is most valuable to undertake a card sorting exercise.