Submit one homework per team. Write every team member's name on the homework.

As discussed in class, Rosenfeld and Morville have discovered that the most common user complaint about web sites is "Can't find it" which is due to a mismatch between the user's expections and the actual web site organization. This homework concentrates on a powerful interviewing technique to discover people's mental organization of content.

1. (10 points) Identify a list of possible topics or terms from your web site.  Begin by reviewing the site and the business case.  For each topic, list the topic and name the source for that topic. For example the source may be the current Web site, or it may be a result from the user testing you conducted for the last homework.  A good layout for this information would be  a table where the topics are listed on the left side and the sources are listed as columns.  To keep this process manageable, limit your topics to 30 or less.

2. (10 points) For each topic, list a short definition.  You may want to consult with other users as a check that you are all in agreement as to the meaning of each topic.

As discussed in class, card sorting is extremely powerful in its result, but in the past it has been cumbersome to perform due to the large amount of hand transcription required to record the user's interview and to transfer the results of the user's interview into computer form. To help solve this problem, Jorge Toro has written a package that allows HCI practitioners to conduct the card sorting session on the computer and removes the time-consuming process of hand transcription. Instructions for installing and using CardZort and CardCluster can be found at CardZort Instructions.

3. (10 points) Prepare the cards for the card sorting exercise. Submit a copy of this file on a floppy disk

For the next question, you will need to download and install the CardZort program. The CardZort program allows users to arrange electronic cards on an electronic tabletop in a manner that is similar to arranging paper cards on a real tabletop. Instructions for installing and using CardZort can be found at CardZort Instructions

4. (32 points) Identify eight people fitting your user profile who are willing to perform the card sorting exercise. If anyone in your team has a laptop, you might consider installing the software on the laptop and bringing it to a location where you are likely to find people who fit your user profile. For each person interviewed, record
   • user's first name
   • the date and time
   • the name of the person conducting the interview
   • the results of the card sorting session as a sorted card file (".cz" file) Use the first name of the user as the name of the .cz file.

   For each person, submit this information and on a floppy, submit a copy of the sorted card file (".cz" file) that they created.

Once you have completed your interviews, you will need to run the CardCluster program to summarize how people grouped the topics from the card sorting session.

5. (15 points) Use the CardCluster program to determine the clusterings. Include a printout of the display that appears after you click on "Complete".

6. (20 points) Create a short report describing your findings (1 Page)
   1. Begin the report with your recommendations.  This should be short -- no more than a page.
   2. Include your proposed groups of topics.  Choose an easy-to-read format.

7. ( 3 points) List each team member and the member's contribution to this homework.