This case study demonstrates a simple design framework of standardized information architecture building blocks that is directly applicable to portals and the DIY model for creating user experiences, in two ways. First, the building blocks framework can help maintain findability, usability and user experience quality in portal and DIY settings by effectively guiding growth and change. Second, it is an example of the changing role of IA in the DIY world, where we now define the frameworks and templates other people choose from when creating their own tools and user experiences.
Using many screenshots and design documents, the case study will follow changes in the audiences, structures, and contents of a suite of enterprise portals constructed for users in different countries, operating units, and managerial levels of a major global corporation. Participants will see how the building blocks provided an effective framework for the design, expansion, and integration of nearly a dozen distinct portals assembled from a common library of functionality and content.
This case study will also explore the building blocks as an example of the design frameworks IA’s will create in the DIY future. We will discuss the goals and design principles that inspired the building blocks system, and review its evolution over time.
2. Joe Lamantia
Active in User Experience & the Internet since 1996.
Started a company that failed.
Speak and write on diverse topics inspired by work.
Just moved to Amsterdam.
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 2
3. Todays Menu
Modularity in all things
Itʼs a DIY Future
Example: Hot Framework Action!
Framework Design Tips
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 3
15. Web 1.0
Model = centralized
Concerns
• organization
• structure
• architecture
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 10
16. Together, Ubiquity and Web Slices lead me
to believe we're
entering an era of
fracturing Web content.
Already we have seen content separated
from presentation with RSS, and we've
given developers access to online data for
their mashups via Web APIs.
Rafe Needleman
Mozilla Ubiquity, Microsoft IE8, and the fracturing of Web pages
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 11
23. Developers build the world we all live and work in.
Theyʼre like canaries in the coalmine for designers.
What happens to them first...
...happens to us next!
So whatʼs
happening
to the developers?
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 14
24. It means that developers
will have to
learn how to code pages for
modularity.
sites be mashed up
...letting their
and refactored into tiny pieces all
over the Web, by anyone.
Rafe Needleman
Mozilla Ubiquity, Microsoft IE8, and the fracturing of Web pages
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 15
34. The Kitchen of the Future...?
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 22
35. Web 2.0
Model = de-centralized
Concerns
• participation
• interaction
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 23
36. ...the growth of Microformat-coded Web
possible for users
pages will make it
to more easily create their own
mashups--personal profile pages that
have just the pieces of Web
content they want.
Rafe Needleman
Mozilla Ubiquity, Microsoft IE8, and the fracturing of Web pages
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 24
37. Web 2.0 resembles
enterprise
environments
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 25
38. Syndication
streams of modular content and functionality
Social Structures
tangible networks & communities
Services
identity, security, publication, data management
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 26
41. Executive dashboard
Dashboards
Portals
Enterprise portals
Tile-based UX
Widgets
DIY experiences
Hackware
Fablab
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 28
47. The Walls Are
Coming
Down
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 31
48. DIY (Do It Yourself) Shift
Lowered entry barriers to design and create
Creator vs. consumer distinction blurs
Flattened control & management structures
Fluid economic and cultural models
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 32
49. Web 2.0, culture of contribution, self-publishing
Commoditized design, development & manufacturing
ʻShadow ITʼ
Open Source & public data sets
APIs, Web Services, SOA
Mashup infrastructure: Yahoo Pipes, Google Gadgets
Physical goods: fab, ReadyMade, Make
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 33
53. “The systems we keep will be hybrid creations. They will have a strong rootstock of
peer-to-peer generation, grafted below highly refined strains of controlling functions. Sturdy,
robust foundations of user-made content and crowd-sourced innovation will
feed very small slivers of leadership agility. Pure plays of 100% smart mobs or
100% smart elites will be rare.
The real art of business and organizations in the network economy will not be in harnessing the
crowd of quot;everybodyquot; (simple!) but in finding the appropriate hybrid mix of
bottom and top for each niche, at the right time. The mix of control/no-control will shift as
a system grows and matures.”
Kevin Kelly The Bottom is Not Enough
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/02/the_bottom_is_n.php
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 35
54. Together, Ubiquity and Web Slices lead me to believe we're entering an era
of fracturing Web content. Already we have seen content separated from
presentation with RSS, and we've given developers access to online data for their
mashups via Web APIs. But the growth of Microformat-coded Web pages will make it
possible for users to more easily create their own mashups--
personal profile pages that have just the pieces of Web content they
want, or e-mail messages made up of live maps, automatically updating weather
forecasts, up-to-the-minute travel information, and so on.
It means that developers will have to learn how to code pages
for modularity. Conceptually that's not that big a deal, although if coding for
Ubiquity and coding for Slices is different, it's going to be a technical mess. What I am
waiting to see is how managers wrestle with the branding and revenue implications of
letting their sites
be mashed up and refactored into tiny pieces
all over the Web, by anyone.
Rafe Needleman
Mozilla Ubiquity, Microsoft IE8, and the fracturing of Web pages
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 36
66. Design: Now
Scope
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
67. Design: Now
Scope
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
68. Design: Now
Scope
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
69. Design: Now
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
70. Design: Now
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
71. Design: Now
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
72. Design: Now
environment / framework
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
73. Design: Now
standard
environment / framework
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
74. Design: Now
standard
environment / framework
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
75. Design: Now
standard
environment / framework
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
Co-creators / DIY
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
76. Design: Now
standard
environment / framework
network
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
Co-creators / DIY
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
77. Design: Now
standard
environment / framework
network Designers
process / service
Scope system
pattern
product / solution
template
Co-creators / DIY
component
Persistence
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 46
78. quot;I created the platform, and
then I got out of the way.
Sometimes the best thing you
can do is get out of the way.''
Craig Newmark
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/10/LVGU693SFD1.DTL
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 47
79. Spore
Over 1.8 million
creatures created by
people using the Spore
Creature Creator.
..more than the number of known species in the world
(1.5 million)!
EA was hoping to get 100,000 creatures uploaded by
players with the Creature Editor by September. They
hit that number in 22 hours.
E3 2008: More Creatures in Spore Than in Real Life
By Sam Kennedy, 07/14/2008
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 48
80. The Problem With Portlets
The Forrest Gump School of
Architecture
81. The Common Portlet
“portletus flaticus”
Two part structure
No ʻhooksʼ or connections
Only purpose = display
A little bit anti-social...
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 50
82. The Box of Chocolates Model
Everything in a portlet
Portlets are islands
?? Add more portlets!
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 51
100. Decreased Increased...
Usability Information costs
Findability Management costs
Satisfaction Training costs
Experience quality
Adoption
Perceived value
ROI
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 58
104. Needs
Allow for growth and change
Establish common language for all perspectives
Construct scalable, reusable structures
Encourage high-quality user experiences
Enable sharing of assets
Further vision of 2-way conversation
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 62
115. The Building Blocks System
Basic Principles
Standardized Components
Containers manage content
Connectors define structure & navigation
Assembly Rules
Suggested Functionality
Convenience, Utility, Social
Best Practices [soon]
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 69
116. Containers
7 types
Begin with Tile, range up to Portal Suite
Makeup and behavior defined in detail
Smaller Containers deliver content
Larger Containers create structure
Work together with Connectors
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 70
132. Connectors Overview
8 Connector types
Some enable navigation
Some provide interactivity for Containers
Makeup and behavior defined in detail
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 72
171. Openness
Use blocks for some or all content
Mix blocks and free-form content
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 76
172. Portability
Blocks can be:
• syndicated
• shared
• reused
• placed elsewhere
• duplicated
• moved
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 77
173. Independence
Blocks are independent
• content
• interaction
• display
...until “stacked” together
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 78
174. Inheritance
Blocks inherit from those stacked above:
• content
• properties
• interaction
Inheritance cascades top to bottom
All blocks stacked below inherit from above
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 79
176. Layering
Blocks can define all layers of an
environment
...not just visual / IA / UX
Blocks can cover *any* combination of
layers
...some, all, one, UX, tech, biz
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 81
180. Stacking Rules
1. Smaller blocks inside larger blocks
2. Multiple smaller blocks allowed
3. No larger blocks inside smaller blocks
4. Can stack blocks sequentially
5. Can skip sizes when stacking
6. Can stack different sizes on the same level
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 85
189. 6. Can stack different sizes on the same level
Page 4 Page 4
View 3 Tile 1 Tile 1
Tile 1 Tile 1
Tilegroup 2
Tilegroup 2 Tile 1 Tile 1 Tile 1 Tile 1
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 87
190. More About the Blocks
@Boxes and Arrows Building Blocks articles
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/person/88-joelamantia
@JoeLamantia.com
Categories: Building Blocks, Dashboards & Portals
Tags: building_blocks, executive_dashboards
ia_building_blocks, portals
@del.icio.us: jlamantia
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 88
199. US Dashboard
US Leadership Team
Major market insight, enhancing dialog
Business intelligence, social commentary
*Introduced social mechanisms
EuroIA 2008 Joe Lamantia 97
212. Use the blocks at the right level
How will you use the blocks?
Common language
Reference / example
Starting point for design
Set of defined components
Political shield
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 110
213. Adapt things as needed
What is the environment?
What needs to be portable, open?
Is inheritance useful?
Are these the right blocks?
Change or add principles with care
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 111
214. Selling the Building Blocks
Pitch the outcome, not the framework
Speak the buyersʼ language (IT, user, biz)
Always explain the minimum
Start simple, promise less, do more
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 112
215. Possible Future Stuff
Wiki
Community of Practice
Patterns & Pattern Library
Mailing List, Blog, Feed
Destination
Workshops & Seminars
Courses
Book...?
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 113
226. More About the Blocks
@Boxes and Arrows Building Blocks articles
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/person/88-joelamantia
@JoeLamantia.com
Categories: Building Blocks, Dashboards & Portals
Tags: building_blocks, executive_dashboards
ia_building_blocks, portals
@del.icio.us: jlamantia
Effective IA For Enterprise Portals: The Building Blocks Framework IA Summit 2008 | Joe Lamantia 124