IUE2009 - Lessons Learned While Integrating a New IA Tool

Lessons Learned While Integrating a New IA Tool Adopting a New Way of Creating Wireframes, Prototypes and Functional Specifications

Introductions
Chris Farnum, Senior Information Architect
Tonya McCarley, Information Architect
Josh Morse, Information Architect
We work on projects that are
Many shapes and sizes
For external clients
Interdisciplinary and collaborative
Full of rich interactions
Creative and, well… interesting …

Overview of Presentation
Choosing a Tool
Introduction to Axure
Project Examples
Interactive wireframes for a large packaged goods manufacturer
Prototyping and usability testing for a large banking site
Specifications for a social security assistance site
Summary & Looking Forward

Choosing a Tool (Something Wasn’t Quite Right)
Information Architects produce several key deliverables:
Site Blueprints
Flow diagrams
Wireframes
Prototypes
Functional Specifications
Issues:
Used several different tools during the process
Resulted in an inconsistent process for producing deliverables
Maintaining and revising was tedious
So we decided to look for new tools

One Tool to Rule Them All…
Our goal was to find a tool that would:
Make it easier to create our own prototypes
Help us create more consistent deliverables
Let us create functional specifications more seamlessly
Improve our efficiency and project process

Some popular IA tools Visio MS Word Pencil

A new generation of tools for Information Architects

What did we try?
We were using… Visio + Word, sometimes Excel
We tried…
Swipr and Intuitect as Visio add-ons to automate wireframing
Adobe Fireworks and Swipr for prototyping
None of the above addressed functional specifications

Challenges and Concerns
Enlighten had a long history of Visio use, and an abrupt shift for the whole team would not be easy:
IA team members were already engaged on projects using Visio
Existing Visio stencils and templates
Most team members had become efficient with Visio
Word templates for specifications were already adopted across departments

An Intersection of Axure Information
Prior to selection:
Engineering management conducted a functional assessment of IA tools, including Axure.
One IA team member (Tonya) participated in a working group focused on documentation and Axure at IA Summit 2008.
Another IA team member (Josh) explored Axure in a graduate school class.
During the selection process we consulted others in the organization:
Engineering and QA
User Experience
Management

Why did we choose Axure?
Axure is designed to produce wireframes, prototypes, AND specifications
It offered several advantages for our workflow
It was affordable
It has a growing user community for exchanging info, stencils and tools
Cost Functionality Axure iRise Swipr

Taking the lead on Axure
For efficiency, one IA team member (Josh) took the lead in the adoption process
Reviewing training documentation and practiced using Axure
Creating new stencils to replace those in Visio
Writing internal documentation on using Axure
Joining the active online Axure community
Using Axure on several small projects
The IA team met regularly to discuss goals and standards for Axure use

Axure Capabilities
Wireframe Tools
Similar to Visio, but with more annotating capabilities
Specification Generator
Automatically generated from wireframes and annotations
Interactive HTML Prototypes
Functionality is added to wireframes

Wireframes – Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities
Interactive wireframes were more intuitive for planning a Flash user experience
Dynamic Panels in Axure make it easy for a non-techie IA to illustrate interactions
Easy to output to both HTML and Word.
Challenges
Need to decide how much interactivity is needed
Limited drawing tools compared to other tools
Might need separate versions of the wireframes for documentation

Axure Example: CPG Product Micro site
Hair care and styling division of an international consumer packaged goods company
Microsite and media campaign for a new line of products
Focus on consumer education
Information Architect’s goals
Provide wireframes and “just enough” requirements for the internal project team
Wireframes should
Communicate interactivity
Document team decisions

CPG Product Microsite: What We Did
Flash site included an interactive salon, animated product demos, videos, music playlists via Rhapsody
IA
Created wireframes with interactive elements and working navigation
Revised with internal feedback
Handed off the wireframes as a guide to design, creative and engineering
Later adapted wireframes for an expandable banner ad
Sample wireframe in a Word doc

CPG Product Microsite: Lessons Learned
Wireframes were VERY well received by the internal team
IA had positive influence on interaction design
Even with the learning curve, wireframes were done quickly and shared easily
Issues:
Need to decide how much interactivity is needed to communicate an idea
Limited drawing tools compared to other solutions
Might need separate versions of the wireframes for functional spec documentation

Prototyping – Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities
Validate the effectiveness of the new tool for Usability testing needs
IA creates the interactive prototype rather than Engineering
Increase collaboration opportunities between IA and design
Challenges
Working in parallel to meet engineering needs and manage the usability testing process
Learning a new tool in the middle of an established project

Axure Example: Central Bancompany (CBC)
Large Midwest financial holding company
16 separate properties
Incorporation and execution of a new content management system (CMS)
Unified look and nomenclature across all sites
Usability Testing assignment:
Test Missouri bank users
Create an interactive prototype
Evaluate response to new look and structure
Validate appropriateness of nomenclature

CBC: What we did
We recruited and tested 11 small business owners in Missouri
The testing location was a Marketing Research firm in St. Louis
Camtasia software captured and recorded each test
Axure was used to create the interactive prototype
High-level prototype
Created with design comps imported to Axure
Required no coding

CBC Lessons Learned
Axure made it possible to create a polished, interactive prototype quickly
Users did not “know” they were not looking at HTML pages
Adopting a new application mid-project is challenging
Using Visio and Axure to satisfy separate deliverable needs

Specification Generation – Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities
Quick and easy generation
Multiple people can share Axure project files
Challenges
Document is very table driven – not a lot of freedom for additional notes.
Specification must be re-generated when changes are made in Axure
Tracking changes is difficult
Items are only ordered at a page level
Items cannot be easily grouped by column or panel

Axure Example: SSDC Services
Small site with mainly static content.
A few HTML forms.
A dynamic questionnaire with somewhat complicated branching logic.
Site used a Content Management System (CMS)
We produced
Wireframes for the CMS page templates
A prototype of the questionnaire
A document with both CMS and functional specifications

SSDC Services Specifications: What we did
The functional specifications for SSDC were done through Axure, and included
Technical specifications for the CMS
Analytics specifications
Challenge : Only IAs have Axure licenses
Updates funneled through the IA
Used the Word template to store non-page-specific information
Challenge : Widgets are listed horizontally
Multi-column pages cause trouble for QA members
IA renumbered footnotes on select pages

SSDC Lessons Learned
Develop alternative formatting standards that take advantage of Axure
Find a balance of effort between IAs and other teams using specifications.
Work closely with the people that will be using your specifications to ensure that they are easy to read and use.
Axure can easily become the central repository for documentation on a project, which can make more work for the IA if only he has a license.

Lessons Learned From the Adoption Process
During the adoption process, maintain regular communication with representatives from internal teams, not just the IA team.
Make sure to discuss details as well as high-level issues.
Evaluate your process along with the new technology
Technology changes may require process changes that affect many people.
People will be uncomfortable; try to keep them informed and bring them into the adoption process.

Summary and Looking Forward
We are still in an integration process
We are still learning and building out our stencil/widget library
Continue the functional specification discussion
Axure has not been tested on a large CMS-driven project
Reliance on Visio/Word documentation
Multiple Authors across departments
Wider adoption of Axure is under consideration
Engineering, Analytics, and QA
And we are continuing to evaluate potential solutions

Thank you for your time!
Any questions?
Contact Us
Chris Farnum [email_address]
Tonya McCarley [email_address]
Josh Morse [email_address]
Enlighten Interactive Marketing | Web Development | Strategic Consulting
Ann Arbor, Michigan | www.enlighten.com

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IUE2009 - Lessons Learned While Integrating a New IA Tool

by Chris Farnum on Mar 31, 2009

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IUE2009 - Lessons Learned While Integrating a New IA Tool — Presentation Transcript