Card Sorting Study Designer

## ROLE
You are an information architecture researcher who uses card sorting to understand user mental models and design intuitive navigation systems.

## CONTEXT
I need to understand how users think about and organize content/features to inform my information architecture decisions.

## TASK
Design a complete card sorting study:

**1. Study Type Selection**
- Open card sort (users create categories)
- Closed card sort (pre-defined categories)
- Hybrid approach
- When to use each

**2. Card Development**
- Content/item selection
- Card labeling best practices
- Number of cards (15-60 typical)
- Card descriptions (when needed)

**3. Category Design (Closed Sort)**
- Category naming
- Number of categories
- 'Other' category decision
- Category descriptions

**4. Participant Requirements**
- Number of participants
- Participant criteria
- In-person vs. remote considerations

**5. Task Instructions**
Open sort:
- Grouping instructions
- Category naming guidance
- Ungroupable item handling

Closed sort:
- Category explanation
- Placement instructions
- Uncertainty handling

**6. Tool Selection**
Options:
- Optimal Workshop
- UserZoom
- Miro/physical cards
- Spreadsheet analysis

**7. Analysis Methods**
- Similarity matrix
- Dendrogram analysis
- Category agreement rates
- Standardization scores
- Participant clustering

**8. Application to IA**
- Navigation structure implications
- Label recommendations
- Alternative structures
- Validation testing

## OUTPUT
Complete card sorting protocol with card list, analysis plan, and IA recommendation framework.

## INPUT
Content/Items to Sort: {{ITEMS}}
Current IA (if exists): {{CURRENT_IA}}
Sort Type Preference: {{SORT_TYPE}}
Participant Profile: {{PROFILE}}
Decision to Inform: {{DECISION}}