Taming Taxonomy: A Practical Intro

taming taxonomy | @albertatrebla | @undrstndng OCUX Meetup 2013
Taming Taxonomy
Tips & Tools for Creating Structure with the User in Mind
alberta soranzo | @albertatrebla
jessicaduverneay | @undrstndng
OCUX Meetup 2013 – Orange County, CA
photo: jessica duverneay/

THE PLAN
•Case Study
•Tool Review
•Peer to peer learning activity

CASE STUDY
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

THE CLIENT
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic
Surgery (ASAPS)

Case Study
2!
3!
4!
5!
1!

THE PAPERWORK
Statement of Work (SOW)

THE REAL WORK
• Understanding
Taxonomies?!?
• Search Engine
Keyword Market?!?
• Comprehensive
System?!?
• Polyhierarchy?!?
• Synonym
Mapping?!?
• Governance Plan?!?
Statement of What?!?
...and I had this much time:
24

Hours

HOT MESS
The Problem
Glossary of Terms!
Injectables and Dermal Fillers!
•  Amphadase"
•  Acquamid"
•  Anesthesia"
•  Anika CTA"
•  Anti-viral"
•  Artecoll"
•  ArteFill"
•  ArteSense"
•  Axillary"
•  Belotero"
•  Betacaine"
•  Bio-alchamid"
•  Bioplastique"
•  Botox"
•  Botox Cosmetic"
•  Botulinum Toxin"
•  Botulinum Toxin Type A"
•  Botulinum Toxin Type B"
•  Bovine Collagen "
•  Calcium hydroxylapitite"
•  Captique"
•  Carboxytherapy"
•  Cellulite"
•  Collagen"
•  ETC… "

THE BREAST CHOICE
Breast Implants
Breast Augmentation
Breast Enhancement
Breast Enlargement
Breast Surgery
Implants
Silicon Implants
Saline Implants
Gel Implants
Subpectoral Breast
Surgery
Mammoplasty
Breast Replacement
Breast Revision
Breast Reconstruction
**Boob Job
**Pectoral Implants

WWPBBD?
Polar Bear Book Says:
•Categories should be
mutually exclusive, unless
they are polyhierarchical.
•Consider the balance
breadth and depth, erring on
the side of broad and
shallow for new sites.
•Taxonomy = a slow layer,
while navigation may be
slightly faster

SEEMS EASY
Which exact word should be used?
Where does it go in relation to the others?
What are the exceptions?
That’s all I have to do?
NEAT!

SEEMS EASY
Which exact word should be used?
Where does it go in relation to the others?
What are the exceptions?
That’s all I have to do?
NEAT!
NOT
SO

FAST
THERE,

BUDDY!

LEBOWSKI JOKE

KEY FACTORS
Strategy: User Centered vs. Business Centered
Size: Scalable vs. Finite
Coverage: Comprehensive vs. Section Specific
Application: Cross Channel vs. Web Centered
Time Sensitivity: Aspirational vs. Current
Metaphor: Uniform/Exact vs. Mixed Approach
Language Conventions: SEO Preferential vs. Natural
Language vs. Branding vs. Authoritative
Structure: Polyhierarchical vs. Mutually Exclusive
Consider:

CONTINUUMS
STRATEGY
User Centered Business Centered
SIZE
Scalable Finite
COVERAGE
Comprehensive Section Specific
APPLICATION
Cross-channel Web-centric
TIME
SENSITIVITY
Aspirational Current
METAPHOR
Uniform/Exact Mixed Approach
STRUCTURE
Poly-hierarchical Mutually Exclusive
LANGUAGE
SEO Preferential Natural
Branding Authoritative
Concept:
Jessica
DuVerneay
Graphic
Representa9on:
Alberta
Soranzo

REVIEW
Activity 1: Existing Taxonomy Review
Glossary of Terms!
Injectables and Dermal Fillers!
•  Amphadase"
•  Acquamid"
•  Anesthesia"
•  Anika CTA"
•  Anti-viral"
•  Artecoll"
•  ArteFill"
•  ArteSense"
•  Axillary"
•  Belotero"
•  Betacaine"
•  Bio-alchamid"
•  Bioplastique"
•  Botox"
•  Botox Cosmetic"
•  Botulinum Toxin"
•  Botulinum Toxin Type A"
•  Botulinum Toxin Type B"
•  Bovine Collagen "
•  Calcium hydroxylapitite"
•  Captique"
•  Carboxytherapy"
•  Cellulite"
•  Collagen"
•  ETC… "

KEYWORDS
Activity 2:
Lightweight
Keyword
Research
**Note: Site Search log files
would have been nice too but
the client didn’t track it and now
was not the time to start.

PERSONAS
Activity 3: Existing User Research & Vernacular
Ashlee: The Lifestyle Patient - "Seeking Perfection"
Experienced Consumer / Immediate or Recent
DETAILS: Age 29, Part time dental hygienist, Married, Soon to be mother, Extensive procedure history, Motivated by
beauty, Detail oriented, Technology proficient
Representative Activities:
Understanding detailed info on procedures, Understanding a procedure lifecycle, Pursing a complex procedure, Finding a
doctor near her, Researching the best way to find the best doctor, Keeping up to date on aesthetic news, Participating in
online social aspects, account features, and creating user generated content
Tonya: The Potential Patient - "Seeking Comfort"
Novice Consumer / Far Future
DETAILS: Age 36, Higher education administrator, Single, No children, No procedure history, Not motivated by beauty,
Seeking general information, Technology proficient
Researching basic procedure information, determining if a procedure is the right option, researching commonly asked
questions, investigating a more complicated specific medical concern
Loren: The Occasional Patient - "Seeking Rejuventation"
Intermediate Consumer / Future
DETAILS: Age 49, Lawyer, Dating with two college age children, Injectable history but no procedure history, Motivated by
appearance, Seeking comparative and specific information, Technology savvy
Comparing multiple options to solve an aesthetic concern, addressing a post procedure experience, locating male specific
procedure information for a male companion

GET IT SORTED
Activity 4: Term Sorting / Affinity Diagramming

COMPETITORS
Activity 5 : Competitor’s Approaches
SOURCES:!
www.plasticsurgery.org!
www.realself.com!
www.clevelandclinic.org!
!

NICE TRY
First Stab - Word Document

CALL IN THE EXPERTS
Activity 6: SEO / SME Validation & Client Approval
OPTIONS:
•Rhinoplasty, Nose Job, Nose
Surgery, Nasal Enhancement
•Chin Lift, Neck Lift, Jowl Lift,
Saggy Neck Surgery
•Phalloplasty, Penile Implant,
Penis Enlargement, Penile
Surgery
WINNERS:
•Rhinoplasty
•Neck Lift
•Penis Enlargement

SYNONYMS
Activity 7: Synonyms & Polyhierarchy
Liposuction =
Lipoplasty, Body
Contouring, Fat
Reduction, Liposculpture,
Fat Removal, Lipo,
Ultrasonic Liposuction,
Ultrasound Liposuction,
Tumescent Liposuction,
Power Assisted
Liposuction
Eyelid Surgery =
Blepharoplasty, Droopy Eye,
Droopy Eye Surgery, Eyelid
Lift, Eye Lift

DELIVERABLE
Final Product

NOW WHAT?
Cross Channel Applications
• Sitemap
• Content Inventory / Build
Guide
• Navigation
• Wireframes
• Node Tagging
• News Categories
• Search Filters
• URL Structures
• Glossary
• Content Creation
Roadmap
• Non-web Properties

Case StudyPROCEDURES INJECTABLES FOR MEN PLANNING TOOLKIT SELECT A DOCTORASK A QUESTION
PROCEDURES
BODY HEAD & FACE
Breast Augmentation
Breast Lift
Breast Reduction
Breast Revision
Revision Breast Augmentation
Body Lift
Buttock Implants
Buttock Lift
Fat Transfer
Labiaplasty
Liposuction
Non-Surgical Fat Reduction
Spider Vein Treatment
Thigh Lift
Tummy Tuck
Upper Arm Lift
Brow Lift
Ear Reshaping
Eyelid Surgery
Face Lift
Facial Implants
Neck Lift
Rhinoplasty
BREAST SKIN & HAIR
Cellulite Treatment
Chemical Peel
Eyelash Enhancer
Hair Transplant
Hand Rejuvenation
IPL / Photorejuvenation
Laser Hair Removal
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser Tattoo Removal
Microdermabrasion
Non-Surgical Skin Tightening
Permanent Makeup
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Facial Rejuvenation
Mommy Makeover
Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss
PROCEDURES
INJECTABLES
All Injectables
Dermal Fillers
Fat Injections
Lip Injections
Perspiration Reducer
Wrinkle Fillers
Wrinkle Reducers
FOR MEN
Body Lift
Calf Implants
Head & Face
Gynecomastia
Injectables
Liposuction
Non Surgical Fat Reduction
Pectoral Implants
Penis Enlargement
Skin & Hair
Thigh Lift
Tummy Tuck
Upper Arm Lift
PLANNING TOOLKIT
Getting Started
Beauty at Every Age
Ask a Doctor
Cost
Facts & Stats
Safety
Planning Resources (Checklists)
Patient Stories
Aftercare & Recovery
Complications
SELECT A DOCTOR
Find a Doctor
Find a Skin Care Specialist
How to Choose a Doctor
How to Choose a Provider
Credentials, Training & Certiﬁcation
Planning an Ofﬁce Visit
ProTip:

Taxonomy

isn’t
naviga9on

TAXONOMY VS NAVIGATION VS IA
TAXONOMY
Metadata
(information about information)
NAVIGATION
Wayfinding
(how visitors move around)
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Structural design of information
(informed by taxonomy, helps build
navigation)

GOVERNANCE
Governance Plan
• How it’s used
• Who uses it
• Why & When it might be
updated
• How it’s updated
• Who updates it
• Version tracking & archival
considerations
Ensures the Taxonomy remains useful as business needs,
content, vendor input, or user expectations change or scale.

FTW!
Value to ASAPS
• User Centered, learnable navigation
• Uniform Language guide for internal
content creators & vendors across
all consumer channels
• Repositioning controlled vocabulary
in alignment with brand –
medically authoritative but
approachable by average
consumer
• Explicit support of business goals (ie:
Men, Taxonomy)
• Roadmap for content creation due to
holes pointed out by aspirational
taxonomy
• Improved Findability – SEO, navigation,
site search, tagging
• Created a valuable, living, manageable
taxonomy that will be used

LIFECYCLE
ASAPS Taxonomy Project Lifecycle
Understand the
Problem
Understand Purpose of
Taxonomy
Strategy
Assess Existing
Taxonomies
Keyword Research
User Research &
Vernacular
Competitor's
Approaches
Term Sorting
SEO Validation
Client Approval
Synonym Generation
Polyhierarchical
Mapping
Application
Governance

TAKE HOME
Main Point: Doing it Once =
Understand the
Problem
Understand Purpose of
Taxonomy
Strategy
Assess Existing
Taxonomies
Keyword Research
User Research &
Vernacular
Competitor's
Approaches
Term Sorting
SEO Validation
Client Approval
Synonym Generation
Polyhierarchical
Mapping
Application
Governance
TAXONOMY
IS
AWESOME!

TAME TAXONOMY
Taxonomy Tamed
• Taxonomy helps consistently
and meaningfully organize
words
• Be strategic & thoughtful about
how you approach your
taxonomy creation
• Search analytics, SME, and user
research can help you
understand how users talk
about things
• Taxonomy is NOT navigation
• Branding, culture, & business
needs have a place in
deciding how to say what you
say
• Remember to consider all of the
cross channel places your
users might see the
taxonomy
• Jump in and try it, it’s not scary,
it can be fun, and adds
tangible value / ROI to a
project

CARD SORTING

TAXONOMY
Taxonomies are collections of facets, which
are created by organizing concepts into
categories.

WHAT IS CARD SORTING?
Card sorting is one of the best ways to
identify categories by having controlled
tests with groups of users to create
categories.
source thetaxonomyblog.com

WHY USE CARD SORTING?
•Input into information design process
•Define overall content hierarchy and
structure
•Design navigation, menu and taxonomies
•Outline users’ mental models
source thetaxonomyblog.com

HOW DO YOU DO CARD SORTING?
Participants organize topics into categories
that make sense to them and may also help
label these groups.
source flickr.com/photos/nedrichards/

OPEN CARD SORTING
Participants organize topics into groups
that make sense to them, then name the
groups.

CLOSED CARD SORTING
Participants organize topics into predefined
groups.

DESIGN THE TEST
•Create list of content topics.
•Prepare the cards.
•Email participants a link to the study.
•Provide instructions for the sort, including
expected length.
•Thank the participant for their time.

TOPICS
•Individual pages
•Functionality
•Small groups of pages
•Whole sections of the site

WHAT USERS SEE - CARDS

WHAT USERS DO - PUT CARDS IN GROUPS

WHAT USERS DO - NAME GROUPS

WHAT YOU SEE - CARDS

WHAT YOU SEE - CATEGORIES

WHAT YOU SEE - SIMILARITY MATRIX

WHAT YOU SEE - STANDARDIZATION GRID

WHAT YOU SEE - DENDOGRAM

WHAT YOU SEE - PARTICIPANT CENTRIC ANALYSIS

THE FUTURE
Predictive Cognitive Semantic Analysis

PCSA
Seamus O’Leary, PhD
Queen’s University
Institute of Cognition and Culture
Belfast
“Predictive Cognitive Semantic Analysis: An Algorithm for
Place-Making in Cross-Channel Experiences” (2010)
source gerard1972.deviantart.com

PCSA

PCSA
“I had an intuition that by interpolating results of best
merge dendograms with anti-pattern libraries and text
readability scores, my algorithm would accurately predict
the boundaries of cognitive and semantic mapping.”

PCSA
• Parallax Theory of Brain Modeling (Johnston, Neil et al.)

PCSA
• Cognitive Disenthropy Theory (Blake, McGuinn)

PCSA
• Systemic Distribution of Neural Pathways Model (Mould?)

PCSA
• Fibonacci Sequence

PCSA
• Limit of Consecutive Quotients Paradox (Kepler)

PCSA
• Limit of Consecutive Quotients Paradox (Kepler)
• Structural Malta Approach to Card Sorting (Mann, Pallot)

PCSA

PCSA
NDA

PCSA TOOL AND API
(exp. release 2014)

PCSA TOOL AND API
(exp. release 2014)
• Solid taxonomy

PCSA TOOL AND API
(exp. release 2014)
• Solid taxonomy
• Comparable sitemaps (CI 97.2%-99.71)

PCSA TOOL AND API
(exp. release 2014)
• Solid taxonomy
• Comparable sitemaps (CI 97.2%-99.71)
• Increased findability, better SEO

THE FUTURE?

NOT HAPPENING!

WHAT YOU DO - ANALYSIS
•look for patterns and similarities
•cheap method of testing labels and structure
•user-centered taxonomy

WHAT CARD SORTING HELPS WITH
•Vetting navigation schemes
•Defining information architecture
•Improving findability

CARD SORTING GIVES YOU
•Data to support decisions
•Cheap method of testing labels and structure
•User-centered taxonomy

PEER TO PEER LEARNING
(it’s everybody’s turn)

CARD SORTING & TAXONOMY RESOURCES
Books
Card Sorting - Designing Usable Categories
Donna Spencer
Rosenfeld Media, 2009
Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior
Indy Young
Rosenfeld Media, 2008
The Accidental Taxonomist
Heather Hedden
Information Today, Inc. 2010
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites
Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld
O’Reilly, 2008
Pervasive Information Architecture: Designing Cross-Channel User Experiences
Andrea Resmini and Luca Rosati
Morgan Kaufmann, 2011

CARD SORTING & TAXONOMY RESOURCES
Card sorting tools
Online
conceptcodify.com
optimalworkshop.com/optimalsort.htm
simplecardsort.com
usabilitest.com/CardSorting
uxpunk.com/websort/
Offline (spreadsheets)
Joe Lamantia – boxesandarrows.com/?p=2803
Donna Spencer – maadmob.com.au/?p=45
Mike Rice – www.informoire.com/?p=162
How-tos
optimalworkshop.com/help/kb
optimalworkshop.com/blog/how-to-pick-cards-for-card-sorting

Illustration: Dan Willis
THANK YOU!
alberta soranzo
@albertatrebla
albertasoranzo.com
jessica duverneay
@undrstndng
understandinggroup.com

Taming Taxonomy: A Practical Intro

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