Overview
Establish User-Centered Information Architecture Through Card Sorting Research
Led comprehensive card sorting research with emergency medical services (EMS) and fire department personnel to redesign ZOLL's customer-facing website. The research transformed information architecture from product-catalog organization to task-focused navigation aligned with emergency responders' mental models.
The existing website mirrored ZOLL's internal product structure - users had to understand the company's organizational chart to find information. Emergency responders thought in terms of their workflows (responding to cardiac arrests, managing billing, training personnel), not ZOLL's product lines.
I designed and facilitated card sort exercises with actual first responders to understand their mental models, then restructured the entire site around user tasks rather than company products.
Key Metrics
Research Rigor and Executive Recognition
- Research participants: Recruited actual EMS and fire department users for authentic insights
- Achieved insights: Secured 7 competitive wins tied directly to redesigned IA and UX
- Executive recognition: ZOLL CEO praised methodology for uncovering previously unknown user needs
- Replicated methodology: Card sort process became standard for cross-functional collaboration at ZOLL
- Business value: New IA structure directly contributed to measurable sales growth and customer satisfaction improvements
Challenge
Define Information Architecture Based on User Mental Models, Not Assumptions
ZOLL's website organized content around product lines - defibrillators, data software, billing systems. This structure made sense internally but confused customers who thought about their jobs, not ZOLL's organizational chart.
Card sorting research offered a solution: observe how emergency responders naturally categorized information. Rather than assume what made sense, I could document their actual mental models through structured exercises.
The challenge was facilitating consistent research across multiple participant groups while capturing authentic insights.
Role & Collaboration
Senior User Experience Designer
- Designed card sort methodology and facilitation guidelines for consistent execution
- Recruited EMS and fire department participants representing target personas
- Facilitated whiteboard workshops identifying user goals, pain points, and motivations
- Analyzed card sort results creating dendrograms and category matrices
- Partnered with stakeholders to translate research insights into new sitemap and navigation structure
Research & Strategy
Custom Analysis Methodology for Deep User Insights
- Designed card sort methodology and managed logistics including participant recruitment and workshop coordination
- Facilitated onsite card sorting exercise with emergency responders and healthcare customers to understand natural categorization patterns
- Developed custom analysis approach revealing user mental models and content grouping preferences
- Created comprehensive data summaries including dendrograms showing category relationships, similarity matrices, card distribution counts, and percentage breakdowns
- Synthesized research findings into actionable recommendations guiding website information architecture and navigation design
- Designed new sitemap and user flow documentation for development partner implementation
Impact
Strategy Shift From Product-Focused to Customer-Needs Focused
The card sorting research generated actionable insights that fundamentally transformed the website redesign strategy. Rather than organizing content around ZOLL's internal product divisions, the new information architecture reflected how emergency responders and healthcare customers actually conceptualized their needs and sought solutions.
The custom analysis methodology successfully informed a user-centered information architecture that directly shaped the marketing site redesign. The Vice President of Marketing personally recognized the research quality and its strategic impact, expressing confidence the new structure would significantly improve customer satisfaction and increase sales conversion.