1. How to Win at
Information Architecture
John Cornthwait, @jrcornthwait
WordCamp Raleigh
April 28, 2018
2. About Me
• MS, Information Architecture, Kent State University, 2018
• Partner and Director of Products, Firefli, Roanoke, VA
What I Do
• Full-stack Developer + Designer
• Consults across industries and markets
• Corporations and non-profit
• Web, mobile
• Master of puns
3. About Today’s Session
• Information Architecture 101
• Best Practices
• What to Do When You Get Stuck
• Q&A
• Giveaway!
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
5. What is Information Architecture?
Traditional IA
“Information architecture is about understanding and conveying
the big picture of a Web site.”
“The elements of information architecture—navigation systems,
labeling systems, organization systems, indexing, searching
methods, metaphors—are the glue that holds together a Web
site.”
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Source: “Information Architecture’s Two Schools of Thought”
6. What is Information Architecture?
Contemporary IA
“the combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation
systems within Web sites and intranets”
“the structural design of shared information environments”
“an emerging discipline and community of practice focused on
bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital
landscape”
“the art and science of shaping information products and
experiences to support usability and findability”
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Source: “Information Architecture: for the Web and Beyond”
7. What is Information Architecture?
What’s the Difference?
• Both Traditional IA and Contemporary IA address core
concerns:
• Navigation
• Information organization
• Information relationships
• Contemporary IA includes additional scopes:
• Support overall strategy
• Work in tandem with content strategy
• Architect the structure of entire sites and experiences
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Sources: “Information Architecture’s Two Schools of Thought”
“DSIA Portal of Information Architecture”
8. Why is Information Architecture Important?
Alignment
Users
• Goals
• Tasks
• Information-seeking behavior
• Experience
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
9. Why is Information Architecture Important?
Alignment
Context
• Business goals
• Funding
• Politics
• Culture
• Technology
• Resources
• Constraints
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
10. Why is Information Architecture Important?
Alignment
Content
• Existing structures
• Types
• Volume
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
11. Why is Information Architecture Important?
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
13. Structures
“An organizational structure is how you define the relationships
between pieces of content.”
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Source: Usability.gov
14. Hierarchical
• Top-down
• Balance breadth and depth
• Polyhierarchical organizations
• Default WordPress Page and
Category structure
• Search Engine Optimization
implications
• Aim for 1-2 folders deep for non-commerce
• No folders for commerce is ideal at the product level
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Image Source: Usability.gov
SEO Source: “Infographic: The ultimate guide to SEO-friendly URLs”
17. Database Model
• Bottom-up organization
• Default WordPress Post and Tag structure
• Relies on metadata
• Enables filtering and ordering
• Ideal for ecommerce and large sets of similar content
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
19. Schemes
“Organization schemes have to do with how you are going to
categorize your content and the various ways you'll create
relationships between each piece.”
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018 Source: Usability.gov
20. Ambiguous
• Subjective
• Harder for IA’s to design
• Often the primary scheme for a website
Types
• Topic
• Task
• Audience
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
29. Search
• How will users navigate?
Types
• Known item searching (also known as focalized search)
• Exploratory searching
• Exhaustive searching
• Re-finding searching
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
30. Labels
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
• What does it all mean?
• Have empathy
• Be descriptive
• Don’t be clever for the sake of being clever
Types
• Contextual links
• Headings
• Navigation system choices
• Index terms
• Iconic
32. What to Do When You Get Stuck
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
33. Card Sorting
• Good first step
• Can help inform structure and labelling
• Fantastic article “Card Sorting: A Quick And Dirty Guide For
Beginners” at UsabilityGeek.com
Types
• Open
• Closed
• Hybrid
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
38. Tree Testing
• Reverse card sorting
• Focused on findability within the structure
• Task-based scenarios
• Create personas if you aren’t sure where to start
WordCamp Raleigh / @jrcornthwait / April 28, 2018
A goal is something you want to achieve.
A task is something you have to achieve in order to reach that goal.
Begin the house metaphor.
It’s not about the specifics, but how many floors (or just one floor), etc.
STORY: TKR – how do you go from 17 levels to 5? Where to start?
Look for stats if you have them–landing page %’s, referrals. How are people currently finding the content? Not gospel (after all it’s a rebuild), but a good place to start.
Don’t get pigeon-holed–users need a way to pivot if they can’t find want they want.
Metadata isn’t SEO. It’s data about the data. I.e., a shirt’s color or size or brand.
Be sure to mention that websites often use both structures to compliment each other, but do not intertwine them.
Extend the house metaphor.
We have the structure (ie, width, depth, height), now we need to organize the rooms within it.
Living room vs family room vs den
Works best when people know what they’re looking for
Careful of lazy devs
”When everything is bold, nothing is.”
Limit. The. Results–have logic to limit the number or spread of results.
Known item -- Peter Pirolli’s scent of information that we, as informavores, hunt for information in similar ways that we would forage for food.
Exhaustive searching—benefits from faceted classification—ie, taxonomy filters
Reference Starbucks example from before about ambiguity.
”When everything is bold, nothing is.”
Limit. The. Results.
