The information architecture community thinks business leaders want proof of ROI. But they don't. Firstly, the IA doesn't use the term correctly. Secondly, the business world is looking for trustworthy partners, not MBAs.
4. What do we do ?
Here are the conclusions of 400 IAs
5. Information architecture Model ver. 0.01
(synthesis of ~900 terms, 8 April 2000)
Information
Technology Standards
•Navigate •Design
•Search •Implement
•Browse •Structure
•Evaluate •Tag/index
IA Goals
•Meet user-needs
User •Mediation
Information
•Usability Architect
•Create •Added value •Analysis
•Own •Model
Policies •Edit •Classify Disciplines
•Manage •Evaluate
Information
13. „Es hört jeder doch nur,
“He hears only that
was erhe understands”
which versteht.“
Goethe
14. “We believe [IA] is important. But we don't
have scientific proof. This places us in
the role of quasi-religious missionaries,
desperately striving to convince the masses
of the righteousness of our vision.”
Peter Morville
26. “Because the numerator (net income) is
an unreliable corporate performance
measurement, the outcome of the formula
ROI must also be unreliable to determine
success or corporate value.”
www.valuebasedmanagement.net
27. Net income + interest (1 - tax rate)
ROI =
Book value of assets
Source: Steven M. Bragg, Business Ratios and Formulas
28. “Return on Investment is based on historic
data. It is a backward-looking metric that
yields no insights into how to improve
business results in the future.”
www.maxi-pedia.com
29. “In terms of gross averages, I estimate
that spending about 10% of a project's
budget on usability activities doubles
usability. ”
Jakob Nielsen
34. “If they had wanted an MBA
they would have hired an MBA.”
Dan Saffer
35.
36. Cost of frustration
Increased expenses
Lost profits
Reduced productivity
Wasted development resources
Source: Jared Spool
37.
38.
39. Cost of frustration for Amtrak
Average reservation $ 220
Reservations per month x 40,000
Potential income per month $ 8,800,000
Incomplete reservations 75%
Potential loss per month $ 6,600,000
Recapture through usability 20%
Potential gain per month $ 1,320,000
Potential gain per year $ 15,840,000
Source: Jared Spool
47. “ROI doesn’t enter into this calculation.
eCTD is not a nice-to-have, it is a
NEED-to-have. And the submissions –
how do you count these? Per product?
Per country? New submission? Repeat
submission? This is a vendor who really
doesn’t understand our business.”
A regulatory affairs officer
48. Cost of not finding information
Number of Employees
x
Average salary
x
Average number of pages and
sites visited per day per person
x
Several seconds of confusion each
visit due to bad IA
The cost of not implementing a
cohesive information architecture
Source: Jakob Nielsen / Peter Morville
49. Cost of poor usability
Number of users
x
Average salary
x
Average number of application
visits per day per person
x
Number of seconds of confusion each
visit due to poor usability
The cost of ignoring usability
in on-line applications
Source: Nielsen / Morville / Reiss (ed.)
50.
51.
52. Cost of “Chip Dankort”
Number of supermarket checkout lines 7
x
Average salary 2 Dkr/min
x
Average number transactions each day 1890
x
Number of seconds waiting for chip 5
The cost of new 315 Dkr
“Chip Dankort”
Source: Eric Reiss
72. Have you hugged your sitemap today?
Home page
Search Contact
About us Sales
Products
History Dealer addresses
Red products
Mission
Green products
Data sheet
Blue products
73. “What’s good for
General Motors is
good for the country”
Alfred P. Sloan
74. So, it’s not just about the value of information architecture.
Is it about the potential value of information?
84. Some simple words of wisdom
Make your clients feel comfortable.
Make your clients look smart.
Don’t sell to focus groups.
Sell to the guy on the other side of the table.
Don’t sell a service.
Sell a relationship.
Be professional.
More importantly, be personable.
Source: Harry Beckwith / Eric Reiss
85. So what is an information architect ?
An instrument of social change!