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Learn about information architecture (IA), its significance, best practices, a case study, selling IA, and future outlook. Discover how IA shapes information products for usability and findability. Dive into user advocacy and its role in balancing user and business needs.
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Information Architecture Hallie Wilfert Information Architect SRA International, Inc.
What I’ll talk about • What is information architecture (IA)? • Why is it important? • Best Practices in IA • A Case Study • “Selling” IA to others • The Future of IA
Information Architecture • The structure design of shared information environments • The combination of organization, labeling, search and navigation systems within web sites and intranets • Also web applications • The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability • An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape
Information Architect • Clarifies the mission and the vision for the site, balancing the needs of its sponsoring organization and the needs of its audiences • Determines what content and functionality the site will contain • Specifies how users will find information in the site by defining its organization, navigation, labeling, and searching systems • Maps out how the site will accommodate change and growth over time.
AKA • User-Centered Design (UCD) • User Experience Design (UX or UXD) • Usability Design • Interaction Design (IaXD)
Information Architecture Library Science Human-Computer Interaction Journalism Computer Science Information Sociology Architecture Anthropology Communication Visual Design Architecture Psychology
Information Architecture Information Architecture
Information Architecture • The most important function of an IA is USER ADVOCATE • Provides the balance between the user needs and the business needs
Context Users Content A web site
Context Context What else is going on? The Information Ecosystem The “Competition” The Organization The Funding The Staffing Users Content
Context Users Content Content What stuff does the web site contain? What kind of stuff is it? How much of it is there? What does it look like now?
Context Content Users Who is the site for? And what do they want from it? Tasks & Goals Level of Experience Users
At the intersection Information Architecture Context Users Content
Good Information Architecture • Is invisible • Communicates the right information • Finds the right solution for the problem
IA: The specifics • Organization • Labeling • Search & Navigation • The Users
Organization • Grouping of information into logical categories, for example by • Task • Audience • Subject / Category • Date • Location • Alphabetical • Most sites use a hybrid approach
Task Based Navigation • Organizing site by task • Allows users to quickly identify their path • Is specific • Improves the “scent of information”
Tasks on Information Sites • Task is to find information! • Break down the type of information
Informational Sites • A policy organization • Conducts studies • Holds events • Issues reports • Converted to tasks • Locate a study underway • Attend an event • Download a report
ENERGY STAR.gov • Site audit for the Commercial and Industrial branch of the ENERGY STAR.gov web site • Identify tasks through opened ended questions from the Foresee survey data • Grouped micro-tasks into macro-tasks • Content inventory matched content to task
Organization Tools • Content inventory • Card Sorting • Task Analysis • Mental Modeling
Content Inventory • Use a spreadsheet • Systematic log of all content on web site and relevant information about that content • Incredibly tedious, but essential • Columns will likely include: • Name of page • URL • Type of content: html, PDF, excel, photo • Owner of content • Content status: Redundant, Outdated, Trivial • Recommendation for action
Card Sorting • Use sticky notes or index cards • Informs the structure, organization, labeling of your design • Provides insight into users’ mental model of the task at hand • Very easy & low tech • Open or Closed • Open allows users to determine the categories and sort the cards • Closed asks the users to sort cards into predetermined categories
Task Analysis • Use your voice and sticky notes/ index cards • Interviews with users and stakeholders • Goal is to elicit top tasks • Why, why, why? • Get as much in the users own language as possible • Sort these too!
Mental Modeling • Use more pen & paper or use your sticky notes! • See what is going on in people’s minds as they accomplish their goals • Identify tasks needed to reach goals • Map current content to tasks • Identifies gaps in content
Labeling • Do the labels make sense to everyone? • Are they obvious and written clearly? • Are they used consistently through the site? • Are they appropriate for the site? • Do they use jargon appropriately?
Where do labels come from? • The Users and the Language they use • Site analytics • User interviews • Customer Service / Helpdesk • Subject Matter Experts (SME) • Stakeholder Interviews • The Content • Card Sorting • Content Inventory
Navigation • Site Wide (Global) Navigation • Local Navigation • Context Specific Navigation • Supplemental navigation: • Indexes • Guides • Site Map
Site wide navigation Contextual navigation Local navigation Navigation
Navigation • Consistency is important • Don’t break conventions • Site wide or industry wide • Steal from others!
