# Card Sorting

> Card sorting for information architecture, open vs closed sorts, and analyzing results.

- Skill: `dragoon0x/card-sorting` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dragoon0x/card-sorting`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dragoon0x/card-sorting/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: dragoon0x (https://skillmd.com/u/dragoon0x)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dragoon0x/card-sorting

---


# Card Sorting

## Types
| Type | How | When |
|------|-----|------|
| Open | Users group cards and name the groups | Discovering how users categorize |
| Closed | Users sort cards into pre-defined groups | Validating existing categories |
| Hybrid | Pre-defined groups + ability to create new ones | Validating + discovering |

## Running a Card Sort
1. Create cards (30-60 items, one concept per card)
2. Recruit 15-30 participants
3. In-person or online (tools: OptimalSort, Maze, UserZoom)
4. Ask participants to group and label
5. Analyze patterns

## Analysis
- Similarity matrix: how often items were grouped together
- Dendrograms: hierarchical clustering visualization
- Category labels: what names participants chose
- Outliers: items nobody could categorize (rethink these)

## Actionable Results
- Items frequently grouped together → same section/category
- Items placed in multiple groups → consider cross-referencing
- Groups with consistent labels → use those labels
- Ungroupable items → simplify, rename, or combine