Why is it so hard to make things make sense when making something for others? In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all overwhelmed by the amount of information we encounter daily, there is a growing understanding of the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren't hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people's education.
Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of any thing. Whether you are - a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive - learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.
This talk premiered at Pratt on Feb 24, 2014.
7. Typical IA Problems
• Too much information:
Overwhelming use of messages
and notifications
• Not the right information:
Confusions of meaning, intent and/
or action
• No information at all: Limited
signals for people to understand
what is happening, has happened
or is about to happen next
7
8. Tools of IA
• Ontological Clarifiers
• Taxonomic Structures
• Diagrammatic Techniques
• User Research
• Market Research
• Organizational Research
• Heuristic Evaluations
8
10. Because 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
10
12. How people understand
Data
Contextless,
Exhaustive, not
curated, not meant
to inform the
consumer
•
•
•
•
Research
Creation
Gathering
Discovery
Information
The careful
arrangement of
data to perform
in a context
•
•
Presentation
Organization
Knowledge
Wisdom
An intimate
understanding of
patterns and meta
patterns enough to
allow for novel uses
Gained through
experience with the
same set of data
from a variety of
perspectives
•
•
•
Conversation
Storytelling
Integration
•
•
•
•
Contemplation
Evaluation
Interpretation
Retrospection
Slide adapted from Nathan Shedroff’s Diagram “An Overview of Understanding”
12
13. “To make an apple
pie from scratch, you
must first invent the
universe”
- Carl Sagan
13
14. Complexity can get in
the way of true
understanding
Rabbit Hole of
Complexity
14
15. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
16. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
17. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
18. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
19. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
20. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
21. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
22. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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.
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
23. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
•
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
List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2
15
25. Critical
Components
Of IA*
Ontology:
Do you know what you
mean when you say
what you say?
Ontology
Taxonomy
Choreography
Taxonomy:
Have you provided logical
structures that bring meaning to
what you present?
Choreography:
How is meaning affected across
various channels, over time and
through usage?
*HT
@DanKlyn
28. Meaning is subjective
Meaning is demographic
Meaning is socio political
Meaning gets lost in translation
Meaning is complex
20
29. Lexicography vs Ontology
• Lexicography is the practice of compiling
dictionaries. Lexicographers collect different
meanings for words
• Ontology represents the knowledge of terms
and concepts within a domain
21
31. There are only 5 ways to
organize anything
1.
Location: Rome is a city in Italy
2.
Alphabetical: Rome starts with “R”
3.
Time: Rome started in 753 BC
4.
Category: Rome is a Romantic city
5.
Hierarchy: Rome is within Italy, which
is within Europe, which is within the
Eastern and Northern Hemisphere
*HT
Richard
Saul
Wurman
-‐
Informa:on
Anxiety
2
23
33. Organizing
information is not
the hard part
building true consensus on the
meaning and intent of
information is the hard(er) part
25
34. 20 ways to organize a box of vegetables
1.! By cost at the grocery in the USA (Location)
2.! By cost at the grocery in the UK (Location)
3.! By countries it is eaten in (Location)
4.! By first letter scientific names (Alphabetical)
5.! By first letter popular names (Alphabetical)
6.! By first letter cultural names (Alphabetical)
7.! By seasonality of harvest (Time)
8.! By length of season (Time)
9.! By cooking time (Time)
10.! By popularity today (Time)
11.! By popularity 100 years ago (Time)
12.! By color (Category)
13.! By taste (Category)
14.! By texture (Category)
15.! By size (Category)
16.! By growing style (Hierarchy)
17.! By climate (Hierarchy)
18.! By type (Hierarchy)
19.! By soil type (Hierarchy)
20.! By best storing technique (Hierarchy)
26
35. Taxonomy is Rhetoric
The way you choose to organize
your vegetables says something
about what kind of store you are
27
36. “It takes knowledge to know that a
tomato is a fruit, and wisdom not
to put it in a fruit salad.”
– Miles Kington
28
37. Mental
Models
Matter
A mental model is an explanation for
the way someone makes sense of
something.
These models of perception shape
our behavior and how we relate to
information that we encounter.
29
38. What facets do you have?
•
A facet is a particular aspect or feature of something. The number of
facets something has the more ways it can be organized against
other things.
30
39. Will you use Ambiguous vs.
Exact Classifications?
31
40. The more Ambiguous classifications,
the less effective the taxonomy
Clarity of Taxonomy
Level of Ambiguity in Classification
32
41. Are you designing for homogenous information
or heterogenous information?
33
44. Taxonomic Considerations
• How much are you organizing?
• How much choice can the user handle at each point in
the process they are undertaking?
• What are the bounds of the medium you are working in?
• How does the mental model of you target user relate to
this decision?
36
45. Choreography = Intent
• Context: the
circumstances that form
the setting for an
interaction
• Channel: A medium for
communication or the
passage of information
37
47. Home
Create Post
Direct
Home
Home
Home
Posts
Home
Home
Home
User Profile
Your Profile
Direction
(Default/ Front
Facing)
Comment
Photos of User
Activity
(Following/
News)
Explore
Edit Profile
Flash
(No, Auto, On)
Like
Followers
Delete
Home
Home
Home
Photos on
Phone
Following
Choose from
Library
Grid
(On/Off)
Likers
Home
Home
Home
Your Posts
Video
(On/Off)
Copy Share
Share
URL
Comment
Take Photo
Copy Share
Email Photo
URL
Like
Edit
Email Photo
Tag People
Report
Inappropriate
Tilt
Tag People
Tweet
Frame
Comments
Copy Share
URL
Filter
Comment
Blur
(Off, Circle, Line)
Comments
Brightness
(Default, On)
Next
Post to Followers
Post (Direct)
Caption
Facebook
(On/Off)
Facebook Login
Tag People
Twitter
(On/Off)
Twitter Login
Add to Photo Map
(On/Off)
Tumblr
(On/Off)
Tumblr Login
Name this Location
Email
(On/Off)
Foursquare Results
Add Email Address
from Contacts
Add Email Address
Manually
Add Email
Post
IPhone Contacts
Caption
Send To
Choreographing
simplicity can
be really
complex
39
50. Controlled Vocabularies
•
A controlled vocabulary is a list of approved terms and definitions for
a particular context and/or setting
•
Frameworks like this can help teams to decide on things like:
•
Variant Spellings (i.e. American vs. British)
•
Scientific vs. Popular Term Use (i.e. Cockroaches vs. Periplaneta Americana)
•
Acceptable Synonyms (i.e. Automobile vs. Car)
•
Acceptable Acronyms (i.e. GE vs. General Electric)
•
Business vs. User Terms (i.e. What we say in meetings vs. what we say to customers)
•
Identification of homographs (i.e. the word “pool” can relate to “swimming pool” or “shooting”)
42
60. Gantt
7:00 PM
7:05 PM
7:10 PM
7:15 PM
7:20 PM
7:25 PM
7:30 PM
Hungry
Starving
Full
Commute Home
At Home
Call For
Pizza
ORder
Pizza
Delivery
Info
Payment
Info
Wait
Eat
Pizza
52
66. Swim lane
Pizza Eater
Customer Service
Driver
Read
Order
Hungry
Cook
Take
Pizza
Call
Pizza
place
Answer
Make
Pizza
Drive to
house
Give
Order
Take
Order
Bake
Pizza
Ring
door
Bell
Enter
into POS
Box
Pizza
Answer
Door
Pay for
Pizza
Eat
Pizza
58
74. PLAN THE BUSINESS
ASSORT THE PLAN
SELL-IN THE PLAN
EXECUTE THE ASSORTMENT
BRING ASSTMT TO LIFE
GTM
CSI/
Showroom
KAPM
Create
Seasonal
Experience
SIM
Wholesale
Sales
Point
of
Sale
Key
City
Samples
Business
Account
Trends
Strategies
Plans
Season
Competitor
Develop
Marketplace
Insights
Market
Share
Data
Consumer
Trends
Develop
Accountvv
Insights
Account
Financials
In Season
Sell-thru
Account
Recap
Craft
Sell-in
Package
SELL-IN
PREPARATION
Learn to
Sell &
Service
Seasonal
Top
Nike
Driven
Changes
Rep
Directed
Assortments
Account
Credit
Order
Net
Allocations
ASSORTMENT
PLANNING
Tailor
Seasonal
Offering
Modules
At-once
Campaigns
availability
Financial
Plans
Targeting
Shop
Suggested
Allocated
Replacements
Sales
Sales
Programs
Programs
Retail
Space
Futures
(Annual,
& Foresighting
Seasonal,
Monthly)
Financial
Asstmt
Store
sell-in
Manage
Fill-in
Order
RETAILER
BUYING
Category
Visual
Manage
Delivery
PRODUCT
EDUCATION &
PRESENTTAION
Always
Available/
Buy
Order
Physical
Carriers
Assets
Educat e
Consumers
(SKU)
Quickstrike
Self-serve
Digital
Recaps
Order
Manage
the
buy
UPCs
Assets
(wholesale.com)
Replenishment
At-Once
Account
Seasonal
Tracking
Digital
Present
Products
Product
Create
Account
Assortment
Plans
Hindsighting
Guidelines
& Directives
Consolidators
Sales &
Open to Buy
ORDER
MANAGEMENT
Allocated
Products
Stock &
Manage
Gaps &
Opportunities
PP
Nike
DC
3rd Party
Logistics
Product
Sales
Scorecar ds
Account
DC
Entry
Errors
Product
Analysis
Gross to
Review
the
Business
Train
Retail
Associates
Launch
Content
Edited
Offering
Profitabilty
Modeling
Build &
Manage
the
Plan
EKIN
In-store
Training
Demand/
Supply
match
Manage
Load-in
Catalog
Plan
BUSINESS
PLANNING
SKU
Online
Training
Account
Driven
Changes
content
Analyze
the
Assortment
Account
Plans
Commercial
Fundamentals
(Nike U)
Analyze
the
Business
Assortment
In-store
associate
Invoices
Claims
Call-o
ffs
67
77. If you believe in IA
• Call it out by name without changing your job title
• Join the cause and support the IA Institute
• Teach other people how to think about the architecture of
information
• Share any stories where IA breaks the current popular
view of being a digital skill-set
70