Developing Information Architecture with Non-Technical Stakeholders

Developing Information Architecturewith Non-Technical StakeholdersVanessa Turke (@vcreatrix)Senior Solution Architect at ImageX Media“Information Architecture: The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites,intranets, online communities and software to support usability and ﬁndability.” ~ The IA Institute

presentation outline★ What is the value of good information architecture?★ Identifying project stakeholders★ Effectively facilitating stakeholder groups★ Where does information architecture begin?★ What is the process for developing IA for Drupal?★ How do you know when you’re done?

information architecture components 1. Organization systems - How we categorize information 2. Labeling systems - How we represent information 3. Navigation systems - How we move through information 4. Searching systems - How we search information Peter Morville, Louis Rosenfeld. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web OReilly, 2006

IA process overview ★ Identify the project needs ★ Conduct research ★ Review content life cycle ★ Document user experience ★ Organize, classify & label ★ Create information and access model ★ Design navigation system ★ Create wireframes

who are project stakeholders

identifying stakeholders

potential stakeholders ★ Marketing & Sales ★ Content Strategist ★ HR People ★ Faculty / Educational Consultants ★ Board Members / Executive Director ★ Project Managers / IT Team ★ Copywriter / Editor ★ Remote Team ★ In House Designer ★ Outside Vendors ★ Volunteers ★ Customers / Focus Group

effectively facilitating stakeholder groups ★ Agree on what the project is about on a high level ★ Take an evidence based approach ★ Outline the value of content management ★ Work with actual users ★ Work with actual content ★ Discuss the entire content life cycle (7 ‘C’s) ★ Review access and workflow from every angle ★ Look at the requirements through different lenses

first agree on the purpose of the project

background and high-level analysis ★ Type of Organization ★ Type of Website ★ Type of Audience Carolyn Chandler & Unger, Russ. Project Guide to UX Design, A: For user experience designers in the field or in the making: New Riders, the Voices That Matter series, 2009

organization type ★ Company, Non-profit, etc. ★ Philosophy ★ Process ★ Role of website in their organization Carolyn Chandler & Unger, Russ. Project Guide to UX Design, A: For user experience designers in the field or in the making: New Riders, the Voices That Matter series, 2009

website type 1. Brand Presence 2. Marketing Campaign 3. Content Source 4. Task-based application 5. E-Commerce (combines 1-4) 6. E-Learning (combines 3 & 4) 7. Social Network (can combine 1,2,3 & 4) Carolyn Chandler & Unger, Russ. Project Guide to UX Design, A: For user experience designers in the field or in the making: New Riders, the Voices That Matter series, 2009

primary audience ★ Customers/Clients ★ Organizational Members ★ Employees/Staff ★ ???

conducting research

research★ Research Meetings★ Stakeholder Interviews★ Content Analysis★ Content Mapping★ Competitive Research and Benchmarking★ Heuristic Evaluation★ Usage Statistics★ User Surveys★ Usability Testing★ Card Sorting http://www.jojest.com/process

stakeholder meetings and interviews★ Sales & Marketing Team - branding, direction★ Strategy Team - mission, vision, audience★ Subject Matter Experts - data modeling, metadata★ Content Creators - publishing workflow, content life cycle★ Content Management Team - web policy, standards & governance★ IT Team - infrastructure, integrations, technological constraints

information gathering tools ★ Spreadsheet ★ PowerPoint ★ Websort / Optimalsort ★ Naview ★ Usertesting.com ★ Usabilityhub ★ Google Analytics ★ Usabilla ★ SilverBack ★ IntuitionHQ ★ Custom tool

consulting analytics http://www.alistapart.com/articles/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-design/

a content audit

usability audit http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/heuristics.html

documenting the user experience

high level questions1. What is the business goal of the website?2.What is the mission critical task for a user to complete? http://www.slideshare.net/rhanna/preparing-for-successful-content-management

user goal: information★ Browsing, comparing, comprehending:★ Maps★ News readers★ Dashboards★ Media players★ Online stores http://insidetech.monster.com/training/articles/7760-how-to-create-a-rich-internet-application-screen-design

user goal: process★ Providing information in a structured manner:★ Product configuration★ Tool setup, or installation★ Signup & Registration★ Store checkout★ Booking resources http://insidetech.monster.com/training/articles/7760-how-to-create-a-rich-internet-application-screen-design

user goal: creation★ Create new content or modify existing content:★ Publishing new content★ Revising / editing content★ Formatting / styling★ Submitting content for moderation http://insidetech.monster.com/training/articles/7760-how-to-create-a-rich-internet-application-screen-design

leading stakeholder conversations★ “Walk me through the current process of...”★ “Would you imagine that it would work this way...”★ “So ideally you would see this piece working like this..?”★ “I am hearing that the most important piece of this is...”★ “Would you see an immediate need for [feature XYZ], or can this wait until phase two?”

as a [type of user] I want to [goal] so that I can [reason].

writing user storieshttp://blog.mountaingoatsoftware.com/advantages-of-the-as-a-user-i-want-user-story-template

reviewing the content life cycle

the 7 ‘C’s of content management

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation3. Categorization

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation3. Categorization4. Confirmation

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation3. Categorization4. Confirmation5. Changes

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation3. Categorization4. Confirmation5. Changes6. Community

the 7 ‘C’s of content management1. Conception2. Creation3. Categorization4. Confirmation5. Changes6. Community7. Consumption

organize, classify & label

organizing, classifying & labeling★ Identify content types★ Identify attributes & values★ Identify relationships★ Identify terms & vocabulary http://www.agiledata.org/essays/dataModeling101.html

when labeling, eschew obfuscation!★ Research industry terms★ Highlight every industry term, phrase, or buzzword★ Ask repeated ‘why’ questions regarding terms and concepts★ Ask random people what they mean★ Come up with answers a 10-year old would understand http://www.grokdotcom.com/2009/08/07/im-not-an-idiot-but-i-play-one-on-online-and-so-should-you/

varied search titles by user★ Human Resources Manager, “HR Form V3051”★ Team Manager, “Leave Application”★ Staff Member, “going on vacation” or “holiday request” http://www.zefamedia.com/websites/card-sorting-doesnt-cut-the-custard/

example of inconsistent site-wide labels for “locations” ★ Branch ★ Store ★ Location ★ Bureaux ★ Airport locations ★ Airport branches ★ Retail locations ★ City Locations ★ Boutique storefront locations

designing the navigation and information model

cardsorting★ Do the users want to see the information grouped by subject, process, business group, or information type?★ How similar are the needs of the different user groups?★ How different are their needs?★ How many potential main categories are there? (typically relates to navigation)★ What should those groups be called? http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/card_sorting_a_definitive_guide

sitemap

navigation stress test★ What is this page about?★ What site is this?★ What are the major sections of this site?★ What major section is this page in?★ What is "up" 1 level from here?★ How do I get to the home page of this site?★ How do I get to the top of this section of the site?★ What does each group of links represent? http://instone.org/navstress

content types

title Author Date Body text Body text Body text Body text Body text Body text Body text Body text Image Body text Body text Body text Body text Body text Body Attachment (PDF 131 MB) Resource Link

user roles

understanding search approach ★ Known-item ★ Exploratory ★ Don’t know what you need to know ★ Re-finding http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/four_modes_of_seeking_information_and_how_to_design_for_them

multiple pathways example: “vegan chocolate cake”★ By ingredient (e.g. “chocolate”)★ By dietary consideration (“vegan”)★ By category (e.g. “desserts”)★ By searching (e.g. “vegan cakes”)

keyword search issues example: “DRESSING”

pattern libraries, mockups and/or proof of concept

creating wireframes

create attention map to prioritize page elements http://webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/attention-map.php http://www.alistapart.com/articles/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-design/

sketching out initial layout http://37signals.com/svn/posts/466-sketching-with-a-sharpie

IA deliverables ★ Content Audit ★ Data modeling: content types, relationships and taxonomy ★ Access Matrix ★ Sitemap / navigation system ★ Publishing workflow & conversion workflow ★ User Stories ★ Wireframes

common stumbling blocks ★ Conflicting vocabularies ★ Inexperience with CMS (still thinking in terms of pages) ★ Steep learning curve ★ Organizational shift (from submitting copy to a webmaster to editing and publishing own content) ★ Unfinished site content (BIG RED FLAG!)

symptoms of an unproductive committee ★ Unable to come to decisions ★ Revisiting the decisions multiple times ★ Changes in communication pattern ★ Excessive rabbit hole or spinoff discussions ★ Excessive time between meetings ★ Undermining committee member behavior ★ Private communications

causes of an unproductive committee ★ Lack of a clearly stated objective ★ Lack of milestone based deadline ★ No process roadmap ★ Suggestions based on individual preferences ★ Absence of leader or final decision maker ★ Disorganized feedback process ★ Diffused resources and priorities ★ Personal or political agendas ★ Policy Roadblocks

staying focused★ Schedule regular web meetings and stick to the schedule★ Provide regular status updates★ Provide opportunities for brainstorming★ Version control of project documentation★ Task delegation: Recognize each one’s strengths and work autonomously http://sixrevisions.com/project-management/how-to-make-remote-team-collaboration-work/

stakeholder communications structure

thank you!Vanessa Turkehttp://imagexmedia.com/vanessaPresentation Resources:http://www.vanessaturke.net/ia-ux

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Developing Information Architecture with Non-Technical Stakeholders

by Vanessa Turke on Oct 16, 2011

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Developing Information Architecture with Non-Technical Stakeholders Presentation Transcript