Social Networking Analysis: uncovering the secrets of information flow for our information architecture Maria Horrigan Principal Consultant #OZIA09 #SNA

Information and knowledgeHuman absorptive capacityGrowthTimeCohen & Levinthal 1989A world of rapidly growing knowledge ….

....that is increasingly connected..and just a click awaylocalnetworksold colleaguescolleaguesat other officesnew friendsfamilylocalcolleaguesold friendsvirtualcommunitiesold classmates

Understanding Modern Users Modern wants, needs, online behaviours, attitudes, expectations, and motivations:Increasingly complex and facetedInformation needs:More and more complexIncreasingly difficult to documentContext of use:Complex dynamics, influencers and influences

Context of the Case:Large scale project in governmentNo idea what the end solution would be likeLots of information, but in people’s headsMultiple stakeholders across multiple silosInformation flows between individuals and groups not well knownExternal industry pressure for project to occurHow could we leverage the network for the benefit of the project?

The Six Degrees of Separation

Social Networking Analysis (SNA)Helped us explore questions such as:How does information flow into the network?Where does the information flow?Who is involved and why?What are they saying?What do they know?How do they interact?Strength of relationships & interactions ?Are there emergent sub-groups?

What we didAdopted an agile approachBroke down huge project puzzle into smaller business issues to solveHad multiple streams of activities (IA had visualisation of all the different parts of the puzzle)Used SNA in each stream to uncover the information needs of the usersUsed “skinny” documentationto convey to stakeholders the key features of the system, its processes and the flow of information

Informal organisationFormal OrganisationUncovered organisational networks Teigland et al. 2005

Centrality : revealing network structure Very centralized network - one or a few very central ‘nodes’. If removed, network quickly fragments and fails Less centralized network - resilient. Many nodes can fail yet allow remaining nodes to still reach each other Boundary Spanners - connect their group to others. Innovators as have access to ideas and information in other clusters Periphery of a network -may connect to networks not currently mapped. Important sources of fresh information

SNA – Revealing Network Centralityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysis_software

What we found: Degree of CentralityHub has most connections – authority gainedIt not the “more connections the better”, but where they lead to…..and how they connect the otherwise unconnected

What we found: Betweeness Centrality Great influence over what flows (and does not)“location location location”Broker role between Industry and Organisation

What we found: Closeness Centrality Shortest path to all others – gives quick accessExcellent position to monitor info flowsBest visibility of what is happening in the network

Formalvs Informal Info Flow

Formal vsInformal Info Flow

User Profiles within the OrganisationBoundary SpannerPotential blockerInfluencerKey UserProject ChampionGatekeeperKey sourceKey UserKey decision makerTrusted advisorPeripheryKey User

Access to more Knowledge and Info… but of course this is just a subsection of the networked organisationMap shows 1st & 2nd degree relationships Actors on the periphery of the network had access to many other networks within the organisation

Leveraged CentralityUnderstood who might be “blockers” or “gatekeepers” of information and contentFound people to go to in order to elicit information Minimised re-work & unnecessary consultation – meeting fatigueQuickly identified who might know the answer, communicate with them, understand their lessons learned, improve likely success Knew who and how to communicate key messages through use of targeted IA tools

Captured SNA in personasStarted off with ‘skinny’ view of users gained thru workshopsAdded to personas as info uncovered thru SNA Built up personas as we went in our agile project iterations, rather than all-at-once

From skinny to zen personasAs our project knowledge evolved, we added to our understanding of users:Their information preferencesTheir expectationsTheir capabilitiesTheir information needsTheir social network profiles (Forrester’s Technographics)Documented as ‘ZenAgile’ personas

Added style preferences to personas People oriented Animated Creative Outgoing Goal oriented Assertive Task & information focusedTTalkersDDriverstaskpeopleSSupportersCControllers Logical Information & task focus Detail orientated Cautious & risk averse People oriented Team players Dependable Stable

People oriented

Animated

Creative

Outgoing

Goal oriented

Assertive

Task & information focused

Logical

Information & task focus

Detail orientated

Cautious & risk averse

People oriented

Team players

Dependable

Stable

Added communication channel preferencesPeople learn different waysV= Visual (Something ‘seen’ or visual stimulation)Need a graphic representation A= Auditory (A ‘sound’ memory or related to a soundNeed to hear the explanation of how things workK= Kinaesthetic (Has a ‘doing’ memory, feeling the emotion or activity of the memoryNeed to use the system to understand

ActivityWrite 5 words or phrases that relate to the words: Beach and OceanPlace a V, an A, or a K against each:V=visual (Something ‘seen’ or had visual stimulation) e.g. See the blue sky, see children playing in the waterA=Auditory (A ‘sound’ memory or related to a sound e.g. Hear the waves against the shoreK=Kinaesthetic(Has a ‘doing’ memory & you thought of yourself feeling the emotion) e.g. Feel the sun and the sand, the taste of salt

How we supported user learningBest IA Tools: Personas Presentations (animation & diagrams) Prototypes StoryboardsBest IA Tools: Discuss User scenarios (their story) Presentations PodcastsBest IA Tools: Prototypes Workshops UAT (User Acceptance Testing)

Personas

Presentations (animation & diagrams)

Prototypes

Storyboards

Discuss User scenarios (their story)

Presentations

Podcasts

Prototypes

Workshops

UAT (User Acceptance Testing)

Added social network behavioural preferences

The result: ZenAgile Personas!Social TechnographicsCentralityCommunication preferences

What did I learn?Found out who knows what and how the info flowed through the organisationPersonas good way to help convey and shape understanding of user’s info needsAgile approach - build on “skinny” profile & flesh out personas as the project proceedsInvolving the right people with the right info can mean the difference between success & failure

Conclusions

IA & Six Degrees of SeparationYou may only be one or two degrees away from some who know the info you needInformation networks can be connected and lessons learnt and reuse made possible

Applying SNA and CommunicationsMakes sure you understand the user dynamics with the organisationChoose the right channel based on users style and preferencesBuild personas as you uncover more about the usersMakes sure your IA artefacts match these preferences

”No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity ”Networks Lévy 1997

FinMaria Horrigan www.slideshare.com/murphwww.barocks.comZenagile.wordpress.com@miahorri#OZIA09 , #SNAEmail : maria.murphs@gmail.com