Information Architecture: A brief introduction

Samantha Bailey http://baileysorts.com 12/03/03 For the record

ƒ I’m a librarian who works in digital information spaces. ƒ Currently: Vice President, Information Architecture for Wachovia.com (Wachovia Bank) ƒ Pioneer in IA: First employee of Argus Associates, spent 5 years there developing their operation & methodology ƒ MILS from University of Michigan, 1996 with Amazing push-button Shushing Action!

http://www.mcphee.com/amusements/current/11247.html Topics

ƒ Defining Information Architecture ƒ Understanding Information Environments ƒ Components of an information architecture ƒ Methodology & Deliverables Question:

How do you define Information Architecture? What is IA?

A trick question or a tricky question?

ƒ Information Architecture (IA) ƒ Interaction Design (ID) ƒ Information Design (ID too) ƒ User-centered Design (UCD) ƒ User-interface Design (UI) ƒ Usability/Usability Engineering (UE) What is IA?

This is an emerging discipline in an evolving medium.

Experts & Gurus disagree on the “right” answer.

IMHO: The ongoing discussion is legitimate and healthy—as long as we’re getting work done. What is IA?

Christina Wodtke’s SIG-IA survey: ƒ content architecture (Polar Bear style) ƒ interaction design (Cooper’s About Face) ƒ information design (Wurman's Information Architects) What is IA?

The art and science of structuring and organizing information systems to help people achieve their goals.

Information architects organize content and design navigation systems to help people find and manage information. A Visual Definition

Users • audience types • information needs questions Business Context Info. Architecture • strategy • org, label, nav, & IA • resources searching systems • culture / politics • workflow

Content • scope and volume answers • structure • metadata Why is IA Difficult?

Users Example Personal Digital Assistant

Synonyms Handheld Computer "Alternate" Spellings Persenal Digitel Asistent Communication Chasm Abbreviations / Acronyms PDA Broader Terms Wireless, Computers Narrower Terms PalmPilot, PocketPC Related Terms WindowsCE, Cell Phones

Documents and Applications Why is IA Important? (Metrics)

„ Cost of finding (time, clicks, frustration, precision). „ Cost of not finding (success, recall, frustration, alternatives). „ Cost of development (time, budget, staff, frustration). „ Value of learning (related products, services, projects, people). Question:

Do we still need to group (classify) what we know now that we aren’t dealing with artifacts? A User’s Perspective

Email

Lotus Notes Databases

Personal Networks & Colleagues Shared LAN drives

Printed Special Resources Apps

Public Web Sites

Mainframe Apps Europe Intranet

U.S. TV Intranet "Local" Intranet Intranet Portal Sites Information Environment

Business models & goals, corporate Business culture, resources Context

Content Users

Document Information types, objects, needs, audience types, structure, attributes, expertise, tasks meta-information Business Context Info. Environment: Context Content Users

Characteristics of Large Companies Increasingly global / distributed enterprises Multiple cultures and languages

Complicating Factors (Intranets & Web Sites) Authors and users spread across departments Ownership unclear Balance of centralization versus decentralization unclear Information Architecture Business Environment Users Context Content Users

Complex and Diverse information seeking behavior, needs, expertise Many Ways to Study observation, interviews, modeling, testing, tracking, observation Business Information Architecture Context

Environment: Content Content Users

Financials, Sales, Text, PPT, XLS, Print Documents, Oral Oracle, Sybase, HTML, XML, MS Communication, Memory, Mainframe Office, Lotus Notes PCs, Folders

Unpublished and Tacit Knowledge

Data Store Document Store

Unified Interface Question:

How do you organize (or not) your: ƒ Computer desktop/files ƒ Physical desktop ƒ Paper files ƒ Books Planned vs. Unplanned IA

Unplanned Planned Information Environment Information Architecture Framework

Users Employees Suppliers Interested Customers Public Partners

Users cannot find Users access the the information right information they need. at the right time.

All Content Objects All Content Objects

The sum of all published content: The sum of all published content: Web, Lotus Notes, Databases, Web, Lotus Notes, Databases, Microsoft Office, Etc. Microsoft Office, Etc. Components of an IA

Organization systems Labeling systems Navigation systems -Global -Local -Contextual Supplementary Navigation & Search Organization Systems

Organization structures (e.g., the “shape” of the information): hierarchy, database, hypertext).

Organization schemes: exact vs. ambiguous. Organization Schemes

Exact Schemes „ e.g.,white pages, author/title database „ Everything has a place (one right answer) „ Easy to create and maintain „ Great for known-item searches Ambiguous Schemes „ e.g., yellow pages, org by topic/task/audience „ Messy and full of overlap „ Hard to create and maintain „ Great for subject searches and associative learning Org. Schemes - Exact

Alphabetical: OSHA Site Index (www.osha.gov) Org. Schemes - Exact

Geographical: Weather Underground (wunderground.com) Org. Schemes - Ambiguous Topical: Yahoo.com Org. Schemes - Ambiguous Task: Northwest Airlines (nwa.com) Org. Schemes - Ambiguous

Audience: Dell (dell.com) Navigation Systems Types

• Global (site-wide)

• Local (sub-site)

• Contextual (page-level)

• Supplementary (e.g., table of contents, index, guide, search)

Goals

• Provide context. (Where am I?)

• Provide flexibility (Where can I go?)

• Make sense (Separate global and local systems)

• Avoid competing with content Navigation Systems

name [graphic logo] blurb blurb blurb blurb Home | Site Map| Search Full Holdings| Topical Archives| Membership | Help blurb blurb blurb

Local Navigation Learn About Our Organization Announcements and Initiatives Global Navigation Events and Conferences Page Title Publications and E-Mail Lists About [name] Organization and Governance Policies Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Contact Us Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. FAQs Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. About the [name] Web Site Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. See Also Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Summer Program ABC Initiative Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Contextual Navigation Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content. Page content.

[name]: http://www.[name].com Questions or comments? [sponsor credits and logos] Please contact us Navigation Systems Global, Local, Contextual: Wachovia.com Labeling Systems

Navigation bar options Headings, Subheads, sub-subheads Contextual links Controlled vocabularies and thesauri [Icons] Supplementary Navigation Systems Topical (site index): New York Times (nyt.com) Supplementary Navigation: Search Supplementary Nav: Searching Sucks

“Using an on-site search engine actually reduced the chances of success.” (1998 Usability Study by User Interface Engineering)

Percent of Successful Tasks

60% 53% 50%

40% 30% 30%

20%

10%

0% Without Search With Search

http://world.std.com/~uieweb/searchart.htm ) more than half of all users user interface elements in any large

Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox, 1997 .” ( User Behavior (rough figures) (rough Behavior User Search Dominant Link Dominant Mixed Behavior 0% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9707b.html web site...Our usability studies show that are search-dominant “Search is one of the most important …But Users Demand It Birds eye view looking down on the forest. for improved searching Tie together disparate pockets of content and browsing. Highly focused on users and information needs. From the ground up, looking at individual trees and leaves on trees. Improve searching and browsing within a single, high-volume pocket of content. model, document types and (content Highly focused on content meta-information). mutually exclusive—every project includes both. • • • • • • “Top-down” IA “Bottom-up” IA Not

Top-down vs. bottom-up IA Where Does IA Fit in the Design Process?

The Elements of User Experience Jesse James Garrett

http://jjg.net User Centered Information Architecture Design Methodology

Iterative process ŠDiscovery ŠDefinition/Conceptual Design ŠIA Design ŠHandoff-Implementation

Integrated with content development, interaction design, graphic design,usability Communicating Ideas (deliverables)

„ Diagrams (conceptual)

„ Blueprints (structural)

„ Wireframes (relational)

„ Text (reports, taxonomies)

„ Interpersonal (meetings, conversation, blogs) Affinity Diagram How Users Associate Hardware/Software Content Topics

Servers Web Products

Assessing security & 44% Load firewall needs balancing 48% web servers Enterprise 36% Edition: Developing Deployment web-enabled applications 80%

How to set 48% DHTML event properties Deploying XML applications Concept Diagram

Users User Interface Layer Content Personalization

Profile Layer Specific Values User Content Profile Profile Personalization Rules

Vocabulary Layer Set of Attributes User Content Attributes Personalization Attributes Rules Blueprint (Top Down) Process Flow for Customer Interaction

Customer actions

Register Upgrade to Buy Use Update Enhance new product Install

Up-Sell Support Support Notify Suggest Suggest (thesaurus) (how-to) (help, tips) (patch, driver) (add-on) (new product)

Cross-Sell Train (thesaurus) (online course) = enabled by personalization Web site actions Main Page Wireframe

Header navigation for site-wide functions. Logo Banner Ad or Banner Ad or Internal Internal

Home | Help | Login/Signout Promotion Promotion Tabs represent major Search | Site Index categories of services Cards Invitations Gift Shop Gift Certificates Promotions My Cardshop

Welcome, Tim! Dad's Day is June 18th. New Cards | Most Popular | Highest Rated Send a card for free.

Card Card Card Collections Thumbnail Thumbnail Thumbnail Music title: text text title: text text title: text text TV Promo More Father's More Summer More Music Image Day Cards Cards Cards Movies Primary card Stationery (Music) classification scheme. Reasons to Send Teen Lounge Expand level two African American Birthday channels as much as Spanishl Subchannel | Subchannel | possible. Religious Subchannel Subchannel | Subchannel | more... Calendar full calendar Channel Subchannel | Subchannel | date Holiday Subchannel date editorial holiday Promote searching date editorial holiday Subchannel | Subchannel | more... date editorial holiday using the wizard on date editorial holiday home. Position to date editorial holiday catch users not date Holiday satisfied by channels. Search Assistant Search date editorial holiday Assistant date editorial holiday Image Don't know where to date editorial holiday date editorial holiday start? I can help you SEARCH date...

learn more | about us | investor relations | advertise with us | privacy policy job opportunities | contact us | terms of service

partner ad/offer space Metadata (Bottom Up)

Definition: attributes that describe a content object Example Metadata Record: Compact Disc(Amazon.com)

Attributes Attribute Values Title Symphonies nos 35-41 Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Conductor Karl Böhm Ensemble Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Genre Classical Date Recorded January 23, 1996 Controlled Vocabulary Table

Products/Services

UI Accepted Term Product Variant Term Code

PS0135 Access Dialing PCA358 10-288; 10-322; dial around

PS0006 Air Miles PCS932 AirMiles

PS0151 XYZ Direct DCW004 USADirect; XYZ USA Direct; XYZDirect card Project management & Information Architecture

ƒ PM & IA can be a powerful combination ƒ Sources of tension ƒ Big IA/Little IA vs. Big PM/Little PM IA Resources for More Information

„ Online Š AIfIA (http://aifia.org) Š SIG-IA (http://www.asis.org/SIG/SIGIA/) „ Books Š _IA for the World Wide Web_ 2nd Ed., Morville & Rosenfeld, O’Reilly, 2002 Š _IA: Blueprints for the Web_ Wodtke, New Riders, 2001 Š _Elements of User Experience_ Garrett, New Riders, 2002 Wrap Up

„Questions?

„Contact information: Š Samantha Bailey Š samantha.bailey (at) wachovia.com