Making IA Real: Planning an Information Architecture Strategy

Making IA Real Planning an Information Architecture Strategy Chiara Fox Internet Librarian 2001 November 6, 2001

What We’ll Cover
What Is Information Architecture?
Know What You Have
Get a Second Opinion
User Test, User Test, User Test
Bring It All Together

What is Information Architecture?
Information architecture is the art and science of structuring and organizing information systems to help people achieve their goals.

An Ecological Approach

IA From Top to Bottom
Top-Down
portal
strategy
hierarchy
primary path
Bottom-Up
sub-site
objects
metadata
multiple paths
Object X Name: Product Category: Topic: Stale Date: Author: Security: portal local subsites (HR, Engineering, R&D…)

Components of IA
Organization
Navigation (including search)
Labeling

Organization
The grouping of like content together
Provides a way to browse the structure of the site
Exact Schemes
Chronological
Geographical
Alphabetical
Ambiguous Schemes
Subject
Audience
Task

Navigation
Global
Local
Contextual
Supplemental
Search

Labeling
The interface to the organization scheme - the names of the different categories
Appears in the words in the navigation systems
One of the most important aspects and one of the most difficult to do.
Needs to reflect the content and the user - must be written in the users’ language

Websites Need an IA Strategy
Websites grow organically
Need to plan before you build a new site or redesign a current site
Strategy begins with research

Know What You Have
Content Analysis and Audit
Content Map
Classification Scheme Analysis
Search and Server Log Analysis

Content Analysis & Audit
Take a representative sample of the content on your site
Look for patterns and relationships among the content
What is similar
What is different
Possible attributes
Identify ROT
You will need to do a complete content audit before implementation to document the site for migration

Content Audit Example

Content Map Example
Site 1
Site 2

Classification Scheme Analysis
Compile listing of all classifications used on the site
Product names
Industries
Look for similarities and differences
Can schemes be collapsed?
Do you need a new scheme?

Classification Scheme Analysis Example

Search & Server Log Analysis
Take a sampling of the logs – a few hours or days depending upon site traffic
Search Logs
Determine top 100 terms users are searching for
What terms are yielding no results?
How do these terms relate to your content?
Server Logs
Determine most accessed pages
Click-stream analysis - what path are users taking through the site

Get a Second Opinion
Interview opinion leaders & stakeholders
Discuss the goals and direction for the site
Get buy in & support from top management

“Points of Pain” Exercise
Exercise to determine which problems with the website are related to information architecture
Good to do with stakeholders rather than executives
Users complain that they can’t find things on the site. Everyone has different ideas about what the site should do. Hard to cross-sell products and services since they are so separate. Takes too long for the pages to load, especially on a modem.

User Test, User Test, User Test
Exploratory user testing
10 representative users is usually enough
One-on-One testing, not focus groups
Ideally do it more than once

Card Sorting & Affinity Diagrams
Card Sorting
Great for understanding how users would like to see the content organized
Open sort vs. closed sort
Affinity Diagramming
Way to analyze what the users told you in the card sorting

Affinity Diagram Example

Task Analysis & Mental Model
Task Analysis
More traditional usability study
Have the user try to do something on the site
Can use prototypes to test design
Paper prototypes are great so users don’t get hung up on design
Users’ Mental Model
Determine what discrete tasks the user is trying to accomplish by coming to your site
Match the content of your site to the mental model

Mental Model Example
Mental Model
Content Map

Bring It All Together
Use the information you have gathered to create a structure that:
Enables users to complete their tasks
Supports the goals of the organization
Can grow and adapt as needs change
Remember you are:
Determining content areas
Designing navigational systems
Applying clear and descriptive labels
Improving search

Blueprint Example

Wireframe Example

Metadata Schemes
Definition
Metadata is structured data which describes the characteristics of a resource. It shares many similar characteristics to the cataloguing that takes place in libraries, museums and archives. Chris Taylor, University of Queensland
Purposes
Document surrogate (abstract, title)
Maintenance attributes (date, author)
Facilitates retrieval (subject, audience)

Metadata Schema Example Relevant to …person …product …process Subject Keywords Review Date Architectural Placement Title Attribute Name Manual Text – Controlled Vocab Engineers, Semiconductor, Fabrication Process Descriptive Manual Text – Controlled Vocab Dry Etch Technology; Transistor Descriptive Automatic Date 01-01-2002 8:00AM GMT Workflow Manual Text -Controlled Vocab My X-Zone, Product Catalog Workflow Manual Free Text My X-Zone Identity Tagging Process Value Type Examples Type of Attribute

Levels of Control

Ways to Leverage
User Interface
Generate browsable indexes (site-wide, sub-site, specialized authority files)
Enable field-specific searching (filters, zones, sorting)
Support personalization (language, location)
Behind the Scenes
Enable efficient content management
Dynamically generate pages

Controlled Vocabulary in XML <SVTerm UID="SVCS::8099"> <label>Document Management Systems</label> <alt>Document Delivery Systems</alt> <alt>Document Management</alt> <alt>Document Delivery</alt> <parent UREF="SVCS::80"/> <child UREF="SVCS::8099129"/> <child UREF="SVCS::8099130"/> <child UREF="SVCS::8099131"/> <child UREF="SVCS::8099132"/> <child UREF="SVCS::8099133"/> </SVTerm> Rapid Implementation Methodology Enterprise Document Archive

Next Step: Implementation
Make it happen
Work closely with other teams
Graphic Design
IT Department
Content Contributors
Not easy but well worth the effort

How To Learn More
Argus Center for Information Architecture
Website http://argus-acia.com
IA Guide http://argus-acia.com/ia_guide/
ASIS&T SIG-IA
Website http://www.asis.org/SIG/SIGIA/
Email discussion list
Books
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville
Practical Information Architecture by Eric Reiss
Web Navigation by Jennifer Fleming

Thank You
Chiara Fox
Information Architect
[email_address]
Presentation available at http://www.geocities.com/chiarafox
PeopleSoft http://www.peoplesoft.com

Making IA Real: Planning an Information Architecture Strategy

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