Hierarchical Card Sorting (HCS)
Hierarchical Card Sorting is a participatory method that helps uncover how people categorize and rank different concepts or ideas. It's effective for understanding diverse perspectives and establishing shared priorities within a group.
Use this method when you need to understand how different stakeholders perceive and prioritize various aspects of a complex issue, especially when seeking to build consensus around evaluation criteria.
Solves: Differing mental models preventing shared understanding, difficulty prioritizing diverse perspectives.
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Step 1: Prepare cards with key concepts or criteria written on each. (15 min)
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Step 2: Participants individually sort cards into categories that make sense to them. (20 min)
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Step 3: Participants name each category they created. (10 min)
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Step 4: As a group, combine individual sorts into a shared hierarchy, discussing and resolving differences. (45 min)
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Step 5: Document the final hierarchy and discuss its implications for evaluation criteria. (10 min)
- Encourage participants to explain their reasoning behind their groupings.
- Be prepared to facilitate discussions and help the group reach consensus.
- Use different colored cards to represent different stakeholder groups.
- Conduct individual sorts followed by a whole-group sort.