3. Web Organization: Information Architecture
| Discussion - Week 1 | Discussion - Week 2 | Assignment |
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Information Architect:
- the individual who organizes the patterns inherent in data, making the complex clear;
- a person who creates the structure or map of information which allows others to find their personal paths to knowledge;
- the emerging 21st century professional occupation addressing the needs of the age focused upon clarity, human understanding and the science of the organization of information.
Richard Saul Wurman
Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully.
Organization systems are the ways content can be grouped. Labeling systems are essentially what you call those content groups. Navigation systems, like navigation bars and site maps, help you move around and browse through the content. Searching systems help you formulate queries that can be matched with relevant documents.
Approaches to Information Architecture
In addition to using iterative design to provide a cycle of designing, testing and redesign Before releasing the product, Information Architecture also makes use of top-down and Bottom-up design. A top-down system breaks a large system into its sub-components. The New York Times sidebar index is one example of a top-down Design system. Bottom-up systems works by starting with a small unit and then aggregating it into a larger module or building on it to increase complexity.
as explained in Information Architecture Concepts by Thomas Myer
For example, understanding user and organizational goals is one thing, but they need to be translated into some kind of overall picture of the site's content structure. If the site being built is a portal for snow equipment sales and content, then the information architect will need to know how buyers and users of such equipment think about this kind of information. In other words, he must understand the user's conceptual space. For example, snowboards and snow skis would be different categories of products and content. And skiing might contain several subcategories, such as cross-country skiing and downhill skiing. The way that the site is structured from the top down can help make the content more navigable.
A bottom-up assessment follows. This helps the information architect understand the underlying small pieces that make everything work, namely metadata and all the things that involve metadata: what it should do, where it should be stored, how to deploy it, and how the different metadata interact.
As can be imagined, metadata is the linchpin of a lot of site activity, from search engines and personalization to content organization. So what is metadata? Metadata is, literally, "data about data." For example, when we speak, the words that come out of our mouth can be viewed as data. The tone of our voice, our body language, even the personality or attitude of the listener can all be considered metadata. Metadata then enriches our understanding of the data.
Both approaches are valid and are typically used in tandem. The top-down approach may be applied first to create the general structure of the site. The bottom-up approach will provide the small scale refinements.
HighEdWeb 2008 Conference keynote by Jeffrey Veen, founding partner of Adaptive Path and project lead for Measure Map, the well-received web analytics tool recently acquired by Google.
For best results, click on Watch in High Quality.
Responsibilities of an Information Architect
1 - Identify Mission and Goals of the Web Site
Why would some one want to come to this site? What would they accomplish while they were there? A site can have many goals, but it functions best if one goal can be considered as the primary goal. The other goals can be assigned to background or secondary roles.
In some cases, there will be multiple interrelated goals which make up the primary goal. Example: a museum web site may identify visitor information as the primary role, but this information may include everything from hours to extensive online exhibit information to handicapped access to parking information. What is important is to be able to succinctly name one primary mission and/or goal.
2 - Identify the Client's 'Vision' for the Web Site
This may include brand or marketing messages. The client's vision for the web site is often ephemeral. It may just be the experience that the client wants the for the audience. The web site may be an extension of another media, or it may be creating the experience that it continued in other media.
3 - Define the Audience
There are two ways of understanding audience. There is the general 'market share' or target audience. These are non-specific generalizations based upon demographic or other research. This is good for understanding the general needs and expectations of the audience.
You can also define the audience through the use of personas. A personas is "a description of a specific person who is a target user of a system being designed, providing demographic information, needs, preferences, biographical information, and a photo or illustration. Typically, multiple personas are developed in the early stages of design that represent the spectrum of the target audience. Personas are one piece of a "scenario", the other piece being a description of how this person would typically interact with the system being designed.
The point of developing personas is to avoid the trap of designing for the "average" user that doesn't actually exist, and instead to make sure that the system will work for somebody specific rather than no one in particular."Usability Glossary
4 - Create a Content Inventory
Create a content inventory, which identifies what content already exists on the page or site being redesigned, the goal or goals it supports, and if and where the content exists in the organization. Is the inventory to support the goals already available or will it have to be created? Most content inventories begin with a simple inventory of what exactly is on the existing web site.
"One of the biggest challenges in information architecture design is that of trying to get your arms around the intended content and functionality of the web site. For a large site, this can be absolutely daunting. The first step to success is realizing that you can't do it all at once. The identification of content and function requirements may involve several iterations. So just roll up your sleeves and get started."
Information Architecture Morville & Rosenfeld
5 - Create Site Maps
These are maps that reflect navigation and main content areas. They are usually constructed to look like flowcharts and show how users will navigate from one section to another. The site map is typically started early in the project, and repeatedly refined throughout the design process.
This is the step where the information architecture can explode. We can get into taxonomies, controlled vocabularies; we can apply task analysis, personas and usability. This should be one of the most iterative areas of any web site design.
"Grouping content into the top-level categories of an information hierarchy is typically the most important and challenging process you will face. How should the content be organized? By audience or format or function? How do users currently navigate this information? How do the clients want users to navigate? Which content items should be included in which major categories?" Morville & Rosenfeld
Site map for Defense Technical Information Center. Click image for larger version
6 - Design Web Page Schematics
Page schematics are not web design. Schematics are a preliminary sketch of the organization of information so it is well ordered, visually pleasing and usable. They can vary from drawing to sketches to block diagrams. These schematics are also know as wire frames, since they are blocky line outlines of the web pages.
Wire frame schematic to the right by Joel Mantia. Click image to see larger version.
Ambient Findability by Peter Morville
Readings
- The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
- Defining Information Architecture Deliverables by Christina Wodtke
- First Principles: Some rules of thumb, and some thumbing of rules - Chapter 2 from Blueprints for the Web by Christina Wodtke
- How to Set Up A Successful Web Redesign Project excerpt: Chapter 3: Phase 1 - Define the Project- by Kelly Goto, Emily Cotler
- How to conduct a Web site competitive analysis by Thomas Myer
Recommended Readings
- Chris Anderson's blog: The Long Tail
- What is an Information Architect? by Stephen Downes
- Bottoms Up by Peter Morville
- Designing the Complete User Experience: Downloads - tools, deliverables, and documentation templates used in Adaptive Path's workshops
- Web Redesign 2.0: Workflow That Works - Chapter 3: Phase 1 - Define the Project, by Goto & Cotler
- Competitive analysis- part 1 and part 2 by Dan Brown
- IA onesheeters - mini brochures to advertise IA deliverables (very general information)
Discussion - Week 1
Look at an Amazon.com page: The Long Tail
- How is the Long tail principle functioning here?
- Is so much information (beyond the basic author, title, isbn and price) effective? At what point does it become too much.
- Compare Amazon to other large booksellers, such as Powell's or Strand Books or Blackwell's. What's different? What's similar? Which interface is easier for YOU to use? What about a 72 year old with poor vision? Which is most appealing to an 18 year old suburban goth-kid?
In Jeffrey Veen's video, he talks about "enabling users to find their stories in the data (34:41). He then cites Every Block as a data aggregator for each block in selected sites. This could have profound implications for the hyper-localization of the news -in the future. Chapel Hill won't be appearing there anytime soon. What did you pull from Veen's talk that might impact the way you use journalism online today?
Discussion - Week 2
We are beginning to look at the organization and structure of sites. As you look at your sites and at your competitor's, what are you seeing? Are there patterns emerging for navigation of the sites? Are you seeing common vocabularies describing the activities or sections of the sites? How is social media (comments, rankings, etc) integrated - or is it?
What are some outstanding examples of how to handle a standard interaction, such as finding time-sensitive information or information regarding accessibility issues (physical or digital)?
What are visual cues that create the site identity?
Let's go back to our last unit and quickly revisit Nielsen's Usability Heuristics:
- Visibility of system status
- Match between system and the real world
- User control and freedom
- Consistency and standards
- Error prevention
- Recognition rather than recall
- Flexibility and efficiency of use
- Aesthetic and minimalist design
- Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
These heuristics all emphasize the importance of letting the user take control and feel safe in using the site. Give some specific examples (from your site or from the competitor's site) of the ways that you are seeing this done in site navigation.
What are some visual cues that aid with the navigation and the user's ability to understand how the data is structured?
Assignment: Creative Brief
This module we will begin our simulation of the work that an information architect/usability consultant would do. You will be producing a Word or pdf document, with multiple sections. Over the coming weeks, you may refine and change this document, as you come to understand the project better.
The Creative Brief document establishes you as the information architect and defines the project scope Think of this document as a persuasive sales tool that you are preparing for a client. You will be doing the analysis of your selected site. You will create a written analysis as you would for a client, if this were a real job.I have given you sets of questions below to get your thought rolling. Do NOT simply answer the questions! These are starting point and things to consider as you analyze your site for strengths and weaknesses. You need to write a clear, succinct synopsis of your findings in each area. It may help to put your information into a bulleted list, table or diagram.
Part of the iterative process is re-evaluating and adjusting the mission and goals on an ongoing basis. You will return to this at each stage of the process and may adjust the your mission and goal statement.
You will need to produce the following sections:
- Identify Mission and Goals
- Identify the Client's Vision
- Define the Audience
Targeted MessageCreate the Competitive Analysis <--correction!
Identify Mission and Goals
- Provide a basic overview of the project? Briefly include background information as relevant.
- What is the major purpose of the new site? Are there secondary goals of the new site?
- Try to get an understanding of what makes this site special. How is it different from the competition?
- What areas of the current site are successful and why?
- Does the current site take advantage of current web trends and technologies? Would social networking or technologies enhance the site?
Identify the Client's Vision
What is the concept or vision of what the client thinks the website should look and feel like. Where there are multiple clients, there will be multiple (and sometimes contradictory) visions. It is not always possible to identify common elements. In such a case, a vision must be constructed out of elements of each client's perspective and - in a way - 'sold' to the clients.
- What do our site visitors currently think and feel about the event or institution?
- What do they currently think and feel about the existing site?
- What do we want them to think and feel about the site?
- What is the visual vocabulary for the existing event or institution?
- Can you sum up the feeling in a few words: edgy, homey, safe, exciting...
Define the Audience
The 'audience' of a web site is the group or groups of people who will actually use the site. It is important to identify an audience because it will be important to determine what people will want to do when they're on the site. If, for example, people will visit the site daily for news and current events, then this information must be easily accessible, and not buried in some deep recess.
Often, there will multiple audiences. A corporate site, for example, may be intended to serve both employees and customers. While their interests may overlap (they may both need product information, for example), they will often have different interests and priorities.
- Who is your major target audience?
- What is one specific typical task this audience would perform on your site?
- What prompts them to visit the site (be specific - none of us just cruise dozens of magazines on the web to read an article), and why would they be enticed to return?
In determining your target audience in a real world case, you might rely on demographics.
Competitive Analysis
- Resources:
- Competitive Analysis forms (.doc format or PDF) - use these as checklist to guide you as you collect the information. You will need to synthesize this information into a report (again, use bullet points, if possible) for your assignment.
- Some real life to examples of what your competitive analysis report might look like :
- Questions to consider:
- Home page. How informative is the home page? Does it set the proper context for visitors? Is it a splash page with multimedia, but little content? How fast does it load?
- Navigation. Is the global navigation consistent from page to page? Do major sections have local navigation? Is it consistent?
- Site organization. Is the site organization intuitive and easy to understand?
- Links and labels. Are labels on section headers and content groupings easy to understand? Are links easy to distinguish from each other? Or are they ambiguous and uninformative ("click here" or "white paper")? Are links spread out in documents, or gathered conveniently in sidebars or other groupings?
- Search and search results. Is the search engine easy to use? Are there basic and advanced search functions? What about search results? Are they organized and easy to understand? Do they give relevance weightings or provide context? Do the search results remind you what you searched for?
- Readability. Is the font easy to read? Are line lengths acceptable? Is the site easy to scan, with chunked information, or is it just solid blocks of text?
- Performance. Overall, do pages load slowly or quickly? Are graphics and applications like search and multimedia presentations optimized for easy Web viewing?
- Content. Is their sufficient depth and breadth of content offerings? Does the content seem to match the mission of the organization and the needs of the audience? Is the site developing its own content or syndicating other sources? Is there a good mix of in-depth material (detailed case studies, articles, and white papers) versus superficial content (press releases, marketing copy)
Examples of this project from previous classes. The semester that these were created, we were analyzing magazine sites.
- Jennifer Graham (pdf)
- Teresa Kriegsman (pdf)
- Karen Rhodes (doc)
- Brian Rund (doc)