David Randall, PhD - User Research Professional

Barclays App - Information Architecture Review

Shaping product navigation strategy through large-scale information architecture research.

Company:

Barclays

Tools:

UserZoom
Adobe Analytics

Methods:

Open Card Sort
Closed Card Sort
Top Task

barclays.co.uk

Overview

The Barclays App includes a Products and Rewards section that offers customers a broad mix of services and benefits. With several new products planned for release, the existing information architecture (IA) risked becoming confusing and fragmented. I was asked to ensure new offerings could be introduced without undermining clarity. By taking a strategic approach, I reframed the task from simple card sorting into a broader evaluation of how customers perceive, group and prioritise products. This allowed me to deliver an evidence-based structure that balanced customer expectations with business priorities.

Research Goals:
🎯 Understand how customers naturally group existing products
🎯 Identify which products customers consider most important
🎯 Determine the most intuitive way to integrate upcoming products
🎯 Validate proposed categories against behavioural data

IA Testing

I designed a multi-phase programme of card sorts, questionnaires and behavioural analysis to build a clear picture of how users expect products to be organised. This iterative approach ensured new products were integrated in a way that made sense to customers and supported business launch goals.

Process:

⚙️ Open Card Sort and Top Task: 25 users created categories and ranked products by likelihood of use
⚙️ Follow-up Survey: 100 participants explored understanding of the new ‘pack’ products and naming options
⚙️ Closed Card Sort: 25 users validated groupings using all products, including upcoming ones
⚙️ Top Task: 25 users identified the products they viewed as most and least relevant to their daily use
⚙️ Analytics Review: validated findings against 3.5 million app interactions

Outcomes

Simplified navigation

made new products easier to find and understand

Stronger category labels

reduced confusion and improved clarity

Data-driven structure

aligned product grouping with real usage behaviour

The research led to a recommended structure for the Products and Rewards section that was implemented ahead of launch. Categories were streamlined, naming conventions were based on open sort and questionnaire findings, and product prioritisation was informed by Top Task data.

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