The first class of a 15 week course taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Covers Information Architecture intents and beliefs as well as a comparison to the related studies of interaction design, content strategy and user research. Lastly, speaking to the role of User Experience in all of these roles.

1. Class 1:
How we will learn
Information
Architecture
Instructor: Abby Covert

3. The world is complex
3

4. The world is complex
• People face more choices and avenues
3

5. The world is complex
• People face more choices and avenues
• Businesses are under more pressure
3

6. The world is complex
• People face more choices and avenues
• Businesses are under more pressure
• Technology is advanced, but constantly
changing
3

7. The world is complex
• People face more choices and avenues
• Businesses are under more pressure
• Technology is advanced, but constantly
changing
• We are all personally experiencing
information overload
3

8. Information is not found,
it is Communicated
Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
• Research • Presentation • Conversation • Contemplation
• Creation • Organization • Storytelling • Evaluation
• Gathering • Integration • Interpretation
• Discovery • Retrospection
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
4

9. Communication is about
understanding
5

10. How people understand
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

11. How people understand
Data
• Contextless
• Exhaustive,
not curated
• Not meant to
inform the
consumer
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

12. How people understand
Data Information
• Contextless • The careful
• Exhaustive, arrangement
not curated of data to
• Not meant to perform in a
inform the context
consumer
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

13. How people understand
Data Information Knowledge
• Contextless • The careful • Gained through
• Exhaustive, arrangement experience with
not curated of data to the same set of
• Not meant to perform in a data from a variety
inform the context of perspectives
consumer
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

14. How people understand
Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
• Contextless • The careful • Gained through • An intimate
• Exhaustive, arrangement experience with understanding of
not curated of data to the same set of patterns and meta
• Not meant to perform in a data from a variety patterns enough to
inform the context of perspectives allow for novel uses
consumer
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

15. How people understand
Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
• Contextless • The careful • Gained through • An intimate
• Exhaustive, arrangement experience with understanding of
not curated of data to the same set of patterns and meta
• Not meant to perform in a data from a variety patterns enough to
inform the context of perspectives allow for novel uses
consumer
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
6

16. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
7

17. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
7

18. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
7

19. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
7

20. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
7

21. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
• Rainbow Worship: Believing that more color or colorful flowery
language is always better
7

22. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
• Rainbow Worship: Believing that more color or colorful flowery
language is always better
• Edifitis: Belief that a better, shinier “such and such” could and will fix
the problem
7

23. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
• Rainbow Worship: Believing that more color or colorful flowery
language is always better
• Edifitis: Belief that a better, shinier “such and such” could and will fix
the problem
• Not asking Why: Simple as that. Always ask why.
7

24. Some (of many) Enemies of
Understanding
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
• Rainbow Worship: Believing that more color or colorful flowery
language is always better
• Edifitis: Belief that a better, shinier “such and such” could and will fix
the problem
• Not asking Why: Simple as that. Always ask why.
• How before What: Thinking to specifically about solutions before the
problem is defined
7

25. What HAppens without
understanding?
8

26. Spray-n-Pray is common wisdom
9

27. Corporate Underpants start to show
10

28. Shiny, dusty objects accumulate
11

29. Trends win out over needs
12

30. Information
Architects to the
rescue...
13

31. I am an
information
architect
I intend to because I believe
make the unclear clear everything is complex
put the what architecture frames
before the how problems, design solves
them
facilitate understanding understanding is
organize meaning, always good but it is
create clarity and equally important to
establish truth not understand
support goals, makers clarity is a
and users prerequisite of truth
by: Abby Covert & Dan Klyn
14

32. Why we need
Change?
Stakeholder Interviews
Competitive Research
Heuristic Evaluation
Existing User Research
What Are How will
we doing? we do this?
Touchpoint Mapping Workshop tools I use + Wireframes and Prototypes
User Segmentation Workshop
questions I help Functional Specifications
Goal Setting Workshop Content Inventory
Experience Brief Answer
Who to When Are we
Consider? Doing what?
User Research Flow, Maps and Roadmaps
Persona Development Scoping Workshop
Collaborative Design Session
15

33. 16

34. 17

35. 18

36. #1 question:
What about
Content Strategy
and Interaction
Design?
19

37. Information
Architecture
• Facilitates understanding
• Orders meaning
• Establishes truth
• Creates clarity
• Makes pictures of consensus
20

38. Content Strategy
• Determines content requirements
• Documents page level info hierarchy
• Informs content creation by
establishing content level goals
• Shares content level audience insight
21

39. Interaction Design
• Designs the pieces
• Refines the flow
• Determines the edges and errors
• Documents the solutions
22

40. User Research
• Informs Strategy
• Tests solutions
• Compares performance
• Measures success
23

41. #2 question:
Whats this UX
thing?
24

42. User Experience is
a result, not a tool
How users feel? How users act?
effect you have Your return on investment
25

43. #3 question:
Who does what?
26

44. Most people in
this world wear
many hats
Information
Architecture
As a result...
In
te
r • UX has become a catch all word for people
De ac
sig tio
n n working in these fields
• Job titles tend to be confusing
• Outsiders tend to not understand the
Con
ten difference between these things
t St
rat
egy
User
Research
27

45. Questions?
CovertA@newschool.edu
@ Abby_The_IA
www.Abbytheia.com
(Slides are on Blackboard)