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Fundamentals of Information Architecture Workshop
- 2. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Cognitive Science Ethnography
Sociology Industrial Design
Instructional Design
Organisational Behaviour
Ergonomics
Cognitive Psychology
Anthropology Human Computer Interaction
Computer Science Usability & UX
Software Engineering Interface Design
Programming
Marketing & PR
Technical Communication
Artificial Intelligence
Graphic Design Branding
Object Modelling Writing & Editing
Data Modelling Journalism
Publishing
Information Science Film & Media
Data Management
Indexing Librarianship
Architecture
Business Intelligence Knowledge Management
Merchandising
Business Analysis Teaching
Abstracting
Other:
Project Management
Linguistics
Administration Law
© Kate Simpson 2009 Management 2
- 3. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
The Day’s Plan...
What is IA?
Homepages
Audiences & Users
Heuristics
Tea/Coffee Break
Navigation & Labelling
Information-Seeking Methods & Behaviours
Heuristics
Lunch
Search & Search Results
Heuristics
Tea/Coffee Break
Facets & Filters
Metadata & Taxonomies
3
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 4. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
n. information architecture
1. The structural design of shared information environments
2. The combination of organisation, labelling, search and navigation
systems within websites and intranets
3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to
support usability and findability
4. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing
principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape
: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web - Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld (O’Reilly 3rd Edition 2007)
‘The Polar Bear Book’
4
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 5. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
document/data types,
content objects, volume,
structure
content
users context
audience, tasks, needs,
information seeking business goals, politics,
behaviour, experience culture, technology,
resources & constraints
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 6. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
What Does That Mean?
searching systems Go
broader term
Global Navigation language variant
synonym
Local Navigation
node acronym
Contextual
Navigation
related term
related term
narrower term
Utility Navigation
navigation systems semantic networks
6
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 7. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
To Produce...
Home | Your Account | Site Map | Help
blueprints/site structures
wireframes
metadata schema &
controlled vocabs
7
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 8. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
Where Does IA Fit : IA vs Usability?
They are interdependent; one cannot happen
without the other...
Your system isn’t “usable” if the information within it isn’t “findable”
and
Your information can’t be “findable” if the system isn’t “usable”
8
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 9. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
Where Does IA Fit : IA + Usability vs UX?
Peter Morville’s UX Honeycomb
Jesse James Garrett’s Elements & Planes
Richard Dalton’s Rainbow
The Ultimate User Experience: Louis Rosenfeld & Jess
McMullin’s Radial Disciplines
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 10. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
Where Does IA Fit in the Organisation?
Louis Rosenfeld’s Enterprise IA Roadmap
But really it’s just about:
10
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 11. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Introduction to IA
Why Is It Important?
1. The cost of finding information
2. The cost of not finding information
3. The cost of build and re-build
4. The cost of training
5. Business intelligence/reporting
6. Cross-selling/integration
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 12. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part I
A. Homepages
Point of Homepages?
What does this site do?
Where should I start?
Why am I here?
Does it meet my needs?
Exercise One: understanding the purpose of
homepages
12
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 13. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part I
A. Homepages
What do you remember about the page?
words you remember
images you saw
anything else that struck you
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 14. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part I
B. Audience/User Analysis
Why do people come to your site in the first place?
Exercise Two: understanding your users
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 15. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part I
B. Audience/User Analysis
Exercise Two: understanding your users
Creating Personas...
15
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 16. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part I
C. Webpage Evaluation & Heuristics
“Don’t Make Me Think!”
: Steve Krug (New Riders 2nd Edition 2006)
<- obvious obscure ->
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 18. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
C. Webpage Evaluation & Heuristics
Is it clear what the site is about, what you can do and what the organisation does?
Circle what you find
Is there a clear starting point - does it emphasise highest priority tasks? Are there direct
links (to help new vs frequent visitors?) Circle what you find
Is it easy to spot where the About/Contact Us section is? Circle what you find
Is it easy to scan or is there a lot of ‘clutter’? Circle an example of the ‘clutter’
Do the headings and labels make sense? Are they consistent in format, tense, meaning,
size and design? Circle a bad example
Is it clear what’s ‘clickable’ (ie. the hypertext links) on the page? Circle what you’re not
sure is a link
Do the images/photos have a purpose and are somehow connected to the site? Find a
good & bad image example
What feelings do the images give you when you look at them? Note them down for each
website
What words do you think of when you look at each of these websites? Note them down
for each website
18
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 20. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
A. Navigation & Labelling
Where Am I? What’s Here? Where Can I Go From
Here?
Global, Local, Contextual & Utility
Process for creating a new structure
Exercise Four: Navigation Stress Test
20
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 21. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
A. Navigation & Labelling
courtesy of Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/liesje/179184909/
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 26. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
B. Re-architecting a website
context
1. Context Analysis
business goals?
funding?
politics?
culture?
technology?
intended audiences/target markets?
why do we want them to come?
what worked in the past? what didn’t?
26
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 27. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
B. Re-architecting a website
users
2. User Analysis
usage statistics & clickstreams
search log analysis
who is our audience & why are they coming?
user surveys & questionnaires
focus groups
contextual enquiry/field studies
persona development
card sorting & user testing
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 28. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
B. Re-architecting a website
content
3. Content Analysis
content inventory/full audit
content needs analysis
document types & structure?
metadata analysis
taxonomies in use?
labels used?
groupings used?
how will content be created & managed?
28
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 29. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
B. Re-architecting a website
Home | Your Account | Site Map | Help
blueprints
wireframes
metadata schema &
controlled vocabs
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 30. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
C. Information Seeking Methods
1. Users tend to use keyword searching to retrieve the: example:
A12345 Go...
• Things you know you know, and
• Things you know you don’t know
example:
Pensions
2. Users tend to browse an information space to retrieve the: State Old Age Pension (SOAP)
Additional Pension
• Things you don’t know you know (ie. that which you’ve forgotten), and Graduated Pension
State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS)
• Things you don’t know you don’t know Contracting Out
Calculations
State Second Pension
Other State Provision
3. A final information seeking behaviour is to ask another user/expert:
• As a last resort after trying a search or after browsing, or
• When the user is pushed for time
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 31. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
C. Information Seeking Behaviours
It is rarely as simple as:
User asks a question MAGIC! User receives answer
It is more likely to be:
Reformulate
Query Query
Search System
Information Formulate Navigate
Need Query Browse System Scan Success
Results
Ask A Person Examine Failure
Documents
31
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 32. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part II
D. Navigation & Labelling Heuristics
Exercise Five: ‘Click Fatigue’
Exercise Six: Consistent Labelling
Exercise Seven: Chunking Decisions
More on Labelling...
32
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 39. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part III
A. Search
Query Builders & Search Clarifying Features
- type-ahead
- spell-checkers
- ‘Did You Mean...?’
- ‘Other People Searched For...’ or ‘Most Popular Searches...’
- ‘More Like This...’
- ‘Our Editors Suggest...’
- phonetic tools
- stemming
- natural language
- controlled vocabularies
39
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 46. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part III
B. Search Results
Reformulate
Query Query
Search System
Information Formulate Navigate
Need Query Browse System Scan Success
Results
Ask A Person Examine Failure
Documents
46
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 47. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Front-End IA : Part III
B. Search Results
Which content components to display?
How many to display?
Sorting
Clustering
Facets & Filters (more later)
Best Bets
47
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 52. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
C. Search Heuristics & Exercise Eight
Is it clear how many results have been returned? Circle the best examples
Are 'Best Bets' used and are they helpful/accurate to the search entered? Circle the best
example
Is there a feature available that allows you to find similar or related documents? If so, is
it helpful and offer good suggestions? Circle good examples
Are useful components displayed for each search 'hit' that help users scan and select
the most appropriate result for them? Circle a good and bad example
Are the results listed in a useful way? Can the user sort them differently? Circle the best
sorting options
Is it clear how recent or up to date the returned results are? Circle an example
Is it possible to filter or narrow your results using any categories? Circle a good example
52
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 53. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
A. Fundamentals
Metadata
Taxonomies
Facets & Filters
Why back-end IA is fundamental to front-end IA
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 54. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
B. Metadata
What is it?
‘Data about data’
ie. The stuff that describes a piece of data
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 57. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
B. Metadata
: A Document
Whether Microsoft or Apple - certain metadata is
captured at the time of creation
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 58. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
B. Metadata
UK
Sales
HR
IT
Operations
Procedures
Projects
Intranet Replacement
Project Initiation Document
intranetPID08.doc
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 59. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
B. Metadata
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daphnecys/780929870/
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 64. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
B. Metadata
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kishimoto/273501270/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pickard/90251635/ 64
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 66. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
C. Controlled Vocabularies
folksonomies &
free tagging
Simple
Equivalent Terms Synonym Rings
Authority Files
Hierarchical
“Taxonomies”
Thesauri
Associative Terms
Ontologies
Complex
66
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 67. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
C. Controlled Vocabularies
Synonym Rings
from The Polar Bear Book
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 68. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
C. Controlled Vocabularies
Authority Files
Preferred Term
from The Polar Bear Book
68
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 76. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Findability: aid information retrieval
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 84. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
To support the multiple information-seeking behaviours of users, websites have begun to
invest in ‘faceted classification’ providing multiple paths to and from content; allowing users to
“slice-and-dice” the content in as many ways as they need
A very simplified example:
Multicoloured
Heel Height
Brown
High (over 3”)
Black
Colour Flat (under 1”)
Mid (1” - 3”)
All <black> boots, that are
<mid-calf> with any <heel
height>
All <over-knee> boots, with a
Mid-Calf Ankle Over-Knee heel height of <Mid (1”-3”)> in
Boot Length any <colour>
84
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 85. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
Another way of visualising facets is through the use of venn diagrams (again, using a very
simplified example) of just three facets...
All <black> boots, that are
<mid-calf> and have a heel
height of <Mid (1”-3”)>
Colour
<black>
<Mid (1”-3”)> Heel Height
All <black> boots, that are All <mid-calf> boots, with a heel
<mid-calf> but with any <mid-calf> height of <Mid (1”-3”)> but in
<heel height> any <colour>
Boot Length
85
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 87. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
Buckets:
Digital Cameras
Brand
Canon
Under £100
£100 - £200
3 to 4 Megapixels
4 to 5 Megapixels
Sony
...
87
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 88. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
Facets:
Digital Cameras
Brand
Canon
Sony
...
Price
Under £100
£100 - £200
...
Quality
3 to 4 Megapixels
4 to 5 Megapixels
...
88
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 90. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
S.R. Ranganathan
Five Laws of Library Science:
1. Books are for use
2. Every reader his/her books
3. Every book its readers
4. Save the time of the reader; save the time of the library staff
5. The library is a growing organism
Colon Classification
Who : Personality (ie. Subject or Topic)
What : Matter (ie. Form or Physical Properties)
How : Energy (ie. Process)
Where : Space (ie. Location)
When : Time (ie. Date)
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© Kate Simpson 2009
- 91. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
who
when
where
when
how
where
how
what
how
what
91
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 92. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
E. Facets & Filters
Faceted Categories Google-like UI
Easiest to Use 23 8
Most Flexible 24 6
Helped You Learn More 31 1
Overall Preference 29 2
92
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 93. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Findability: browse & navigation structures
93
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 94. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Organise & Structure: distribute content
94
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 95. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Classify: auto-classification
Author: Jane Bloggs
Department: Marketing?
Date: 22 Sept 2008
Document Type: Press Release? News Article?
Subject: Environment? Climate Change? Recycling?
95
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 96. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
See Patterns: infer relationships
96
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 97. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
See Patterns: business intelligence / risk & opportunities
97
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 98. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Sense-Making: understand a domain / find common ground
98
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 99. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Back-end IA : Content & Classification
F. Taxonomies
What do we want our taxonomies to do?
Governance & Use: storage and management
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlleastlikelyto/378967564/
99
© Kate Simpson 2009
- 100. Information Architecture: Exploring the Fundamentals
Information Architecture:
Exploring the Fundamentals
Questions & Discussion:
Taking this back to your organisation?
Contact: kate@tangledom.com
100
© Kate Simpson 2009