CIA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CIA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. In card sorting, what does 'agreement score' measure? → The percentage of participants who placed a card in the same category
2. An authority file in controlled vocabulary management is best described as: → A list of approved term forms along with their variants and cross-references
3. The ISO 25964 standard was developed to address which area of information management? → Thesauri construction and their interoperability with other vocabulary types
4. What does a site map typically represent in the context of prototyping? → Website content structure
5. Which analysis output from a card sort visually shows how often cards were grouped together? → Similarity matrix (co-occurrence matrix)
6. Post-coordination in indexing with controlled vocabularies means: → Combining individual index terms at the point of retrieval to express complex subjects
7. Which principle ensures metadata is consistently applied across a system? → Metadata governance
8. What is a key benefit of using wireframes in the design process? → Clarifies layout and structure
9. What is the primary purpose of a taxonomy in information architecture? → To organize content into categories
10. Which of the following is one of the core components of information architecture? → Navigation systems
11. In inclusive IA, what does 'cognitive load' refer to and why does it matter? → The mental effort required for users to process and navigate information
12. A closed card sort is best used when: → You want to validate whether existing categories work for users
13. What is the recommended minimum number of participants for a statistically useful card sort? → 15
14. A scope note (SN) in a thesaurus entry primarily serves to: → Clarify the intended meaning and limits of use for a specific term
15. Which element is essential for effective content governance? → Content governance plan
16. What is the primary purpose of card sorting in information architecture? → To discover how users mentally categorize and group information
17. In a tree test report, a task with a 40% success rate and 60% directness rate most likely indicates: → Users frequently took wrong paths and struggled to find the correct item
18. A 'hybrid card sort' combines elements of open and closed sorting by: → Providing some predefined categories while allowing participants to create additional ones
19. A synonym ring in information retrieval is best described as: → A set of equivalent terms treated as interchangeable during searching
20. When developing task-based scenarios for a usability study of a new website's information architecture, what is a critical best practice to follow? → Focus the scenario on the user's goal, not the specific UI elements or clicks.
21. Which principle emphasizes designing systems around user needs and behaviors? → User-centered design
22. Which practice best ensures that a complex IA remains accessible to users with motor disabilities? → Ensuring full keyboard navigability and large, well-spaced touch targets
23. What is a 'breadcrumb trail' and how does it support accessibility in IA? → A secondary navigation showing the user's location within the site hierarchy
24. Which metadata type provides context such as author and creation date? → Descriptive metadata
25. Which tool is commonly used for interactive wireframing and prototyping? → Figma
26. Tree testing is specifically designed to evaluate: → How easily users can find items within a proposed navigation structure
27. Which approach helps manage large volumes of content across digital channels? → Content reuse
28. Which card sorting analysis technique groups participants by similarity of their sorting patterns? → Cluster analysis
29. Which type of relationship in a thesaurus connects terms that are related but share neither a hierarchical nor an equivalence relationship? → RT (Related Term)
30. What is the main purpose of prototyping in the design process? → Preview and test design ideas