You’ve worked hard on the information architecture models you’ve created but haven’t been able to sell them to the client, or your co-workers. Maybe the conversation around the IA has broken down into an unhealthy debate over semantics. In another scenario, you are tasked with creating a controlled vocabulary for a large organization that has a silo mentality and a lot of legacy content. Where to begin?
These scenarios will sound familiar to most IA professionals.
In this workshop, Abby will share her techniques for getting an organization that may have different ideas about how to organize and name content to agree upon a controlled vocabulary.
Abby will share specific tools in the form of diagrams, beyond the ubiquitous sitemap and wireframe, which communicate complex ideas. And she’ll share techniques for practicing information architecture with clients collaboratively.
I want to focus on the soft skills that make someone good at IA. So the lessons here are really about leveling up in skill set. Including:
- Conflict Resolution in IA
- Selling IA to others in your organization
- Improving stakeholder interviews
- Facilitating Low Fidelity Conversation about language
- Visualizing language with simple pictures to get clarity
What terms and concepts do you use to deliver your product experience? What organizational structures do you use to present those terms and concepts? To what degree is the meaning you intend through those choices clear to the person for which you intended it? These are the questions to ask yourself when attempting to make a product make sense to others.
Information Architecture is the practice of making sense of meaning through the consideration of ontology, taxonomy and choreography. In this three hour workshop we will discuss and work through what it means to think about affecting the information architecture of a product.
The fifth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Putting the Why before the what and the what before the how. The relationship of goals, requirements and features. How to deal with needed research and data as a requirement.
Introduction to Information ArchitectureAbby Covert
The first class of a 15 week course taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Covers Information Architecture intents and beliefs as well as a comparison to the related studies of interaction design, content strategy and user research. Lastly, speaking to the role of User Experience in all of these roles.
Language: Your Organization's Most Important and Least Valued Asset (Confab 2...Abby Covert
Have you ever felt like differences in language were holding your organization back? Perhaps you have tried to standardize language across parts of your organization only to find you have opened a huge can of worms?
The experiences we make for our users are made of language choices. We also depend on language to collaborate with the people we work with. Yet language is most often only tended to when you talk about things like content and copy.
Controlling your organization’s vocabulary is one of the murkiest messes we can take on, but it also might be one of the most impactful ways we can help our organizations.
In this talk, Abby Covert, staff information architect at Etsy, will share with us the strategies and tactics they are using to pay closer attention to language choices they make across both internal and external user experiences.
You’ve worked hard on the information architecture models you’ve created but haven’t been able to sell them to the client, or your co-workers. Maybe the conversation around the IA has broken down into an unhealthy debate over semantics. In another scenario, you are tasked with creating a controlled vocabulary for a large organization that has a silo mentality and a lot of legacy content. Where to begin?
These scenarios will sound familiar to most user experience professionals. In this deck, I share my techniques for getting an organization that may have different ideas about how to organize and name content to agree upon a controlled vocabulary.
I also share specific tools in the form of diagrams, beyond the ubiquitous sitemap and wireframe, which communicate complex ideas. And techniques for practicing information architecture with clients collaboratively.
Includes the definition, value, usage and history of heuristics as well as 10 principles with starter questions for use in an evaluation. (As presented most recently at Interaction 12 in Dublin)
This presentation is for anyone who has had technical, strategic and/or budgetary constraints influence what was built vs. what was imagined. We will dig into how to use systems-based thinking to understand how things influence one another and learn techniques to discover constraints sooner. We will learn how to start creating efficiencies of digital process, infrastructure and communication in pursuit of better user experiences.
What terms and concepts do you use to deliver your product experience? What organizational structures do you use to present those terms and concepts? To what degree is the meaning you intend through those choices clear to the person for which you intended it? These are the questions to ask yourself when attempting to make a product make sense to others.
Information Architecture is the practice of making sense of meaning through the consideration of ontology, taxonomy and choreography. In this three hour workshop we will discuss and work through what it means to think about affecting the information architecture of a product.
The fifth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Putting the Why before the what and the what before the how. The relationship of goals, requirements and features. How to deal with needed research and data as a requirement.
Introduction to Information ArchitectureAbby Covert
The first class of a 15 week course taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Covers Information Architecture intents and beliefs as well as a comparison to the related studies of interaction design, content strategy and user research. Lastly, speaking to the role of User Experience in all of these roles.
Language: Your Organization's Most Important and Least Valued Asset (Confab 2...Abby Covert
Have you ever felt like differences in language were holding your organization back? Perhaps you have tried to standardize language across parts of your organization only to find you have opened a huge can of worms?
The experiences we make for our users are made of language choices. We also depend on language to collaborate with the people we work with. Yet language is most often only tended to when you talk about things like content and copy.
Controlling your organization’s vocabulary is one of the murkiest messes we can take on, but it also might be one of the most impactful ways we can help our organizations.
In this talk, Abby Covert, staff information architect at Etsy, will share with us the strategies and tactics they are using to pay closer attention to language choices they make across both internal and external user experiences.
You’ve worked hard on the information architecture models you’ve created but haven’t been able to sell them to the client, or your co-workers. Maybe the conversation around the IA has broken down into an unhealthy debate over semantics. In another scenario, you are tasked with creating a controlled vocabulary for a large organization that has a silo mentality and a lot of legacy content. Where to begin?
These scenarios will sound familiar to most user experience professionals. In this deck, I share my techniques for getting an organization that may have different ideas about how to organize and name content to agree upon a controlled vocabulary.
I also share specific tools in the form of diagrams, beyond the ubiquitous sitemap and wireframe, which communicate complex ideas. And techniques for practicing information architecture with clients collaboratively.
Includes the definition, value, usage and history of heuristics as well as 10 principles with starter questions for use in an evaluation. (As presented most recently at Interaction 12 in Dublin)
This presentation is for anyone who has had technical, strategic and/or budgetary constraints influence what was built vs. what was imagined. We will dig into how to use systems-based thinking to understand how things influence one another and learn techniques to discover constraints sooner. We will learn how to start creating efficiencies of digital process, infrastructure and communication in pursuit of better user experiences.
In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all experiencing personal information overload, there is a growing need to understand the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren't hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people's education.
Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of any thing. Whether you are - a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive - learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.
The fourth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding the terms stake, stakeholder, make, maker and how these role intersect in terms of needs. Development of directional and specific measurable goals.
Jakob Nielsen developed the method of 'Heuristic Evaluation' to help identify problems with an interface. This presentation explains the 10 rules of thumb or heuristics with examples.
Wrangling Complexity through Cat-herdingAbby Covert
The second class of a 15 week course taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding Complexity and the effects of not understanding complexity when solving problems. 3 tools for complexity wrangling are outlined, including an in class workshop format for "frame-storming" and homework.
The third class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding Peoples Needs, Research tactics best suited for user understanding, How to use personas for consensus creation.
As design practitioners, it's increasingly common for guidelines around accessibility to be mandated in our digital work. This shouldn't be viewed as a way of conforming creative work, but instead viewed as an opportunity to make inclusivity a guiding principle in the experiences we craft.
Storytelling results of heuristic evaluationUX Firm, LLC
Presents the traditional way of reporting results from a heuristic evaluation and then a better way that uses storytelling to tell the user's experience.
Language: Your Organization's Most Important and Least Valued AssetAbby Covert
Have you ever felt like differences in language were holding your organization back? Perhaps you have tried to standardize language across parts of your organization only to find you have opened a huge can of worms?
The experiences we make for our users are made of language choices. We also depend on language to collaborate with the people we work with. Yet language is most often only tended to when you talk about things like content and copy.
Controlling your organization’s vocabulary is one of the murkiest messes we can take on, but it also might be one of the most impactful ways we can help our organizations.
In this talk Abby Covert, staff information architect at Etsy, will share with us the strategies and tactics they are using to pay closer attention to language choices they make across both internal and external user experiences.
What is Heuristic evaluation
Background
Benefits
Main advantages and drawbacks of the method
Scenario and methods of evaluation
10 usability Heuristics in usability engineering
How to conduct heuristic Evaluation
Phases of the Evaluation Method
Problems and Evaluators
Seamlessness thought the whole user experience
The principles of user interface design are intended to improve the quality of user interface design.
• The structure principle: Design should organize the user interface purposefully, in meaningful and useful ways based on clear, consistent models that are apparent and recognizable to users, putting related things together and separating unrelated things, differentiating dissimilar things and making similar things resemble one another. The structure principle is concerned with overall user interface architecture.
• The simplicity principle: The design should make simple, common tasks easy, communicating clearly and simply in the user's own language, and providing good shortcuts that are meaningfully related to longer procedures.
• The visibility principle: The design should make all needed options and materials for a given task visible without distracting the user with extraneous or redundant information. Good designs don't overwhelm users with alternatives or confuse with unneeded information.
• The feedback principle: The design should keep users informed of actions or interpretations, changes of state or condition, and errors or exceptions that are relevant and of interest to the user through clear, concise, and unambiguous language familiar to users.
• The tolerance principle: The design should be flexible and tolerant, reducing the cost of mistakes and misuse by allowing undoing and redoing, while also preventing errors wherever possible by tolerating varied inputs and sequences and by interpreting all reasonable actions.
• The reuse principle: The design should reuse internal and external components and behaviors, maintaining consistency with purpose rather than merely arbitrary consistency, thus reducing the need for users to rethink and remember.
The Elements of User Experience provides an outline of all the factors that contribute to an overall user experience (UX), including Information Architecture, Usability Engineering, and Interaction Design. These elements affect how people perceive your brand, form opinions about your company’s trustworthiness, or feel persuaded by your message. Created by Malcolm Wolter, BrandExtract VP of Digital
A presentation on UX Experience Design: Processes and Strategy by Dr Khong Chee Weng from Multimedia University at the UX Indonesia-Malaysia 2014 that was conducted on the 26th April 2014 in the Hotel Bidakara, Jakarta, Indonesia.
In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all experiencing personal information overload, there is a growing need to understand the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren't hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people's education.
Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of any thing. Whether you are - a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive - learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.
The fourth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding the terms stake, stakeholder, make, maker and how these role intersect in terms of needs. Development of directional and specific measurable goals.
Jakob Nielsen developed the method of 'Heuristic Evaluation' to help identify problems with an interface. This presentation explains the 10 rules of thumb or heuristics with examples.
Wrangling Complexity through Cat-herdingAbby Covert
The second class of a 15 week course taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding Complexity and the effects of not understanding complexity when solving problems. 3 tools for complexity wrangling are outlined, including an in class workshop format for "frame-storming" and homework.
The third class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Understanding Peoples Needs, Research tactics best suited for user understanding, How to use personas for consensus creation.
As design practitioners, it's increasingly common for guidelines around accessibility to be mandated in our digital work. This shouldn't be viewed as a way of conforming creative work, but instead viewed as an opportunity to make inclusivity a guiding principle in the experiences we craft.
Storytelling results of heuristic evaluationUX Firm, LLC
Presents the traditional way of reporting results from a heuristic evaluation and then a better way that uses storytelling to tell the user's experience.
Language: Your Organization's Most Important and Least Valued AssetAbby Covert
Have you ever felt like differences in language were holding your organization back? Perhaps you have tried to standardize language across parts of your organization only to find you have opened a huge can of worms?
The experiences we make for our users are made of language choices. We also depend on language to collaborate with the people we work with. Yet language is most often only tended to when you talk about things like content and copy.
Controlling your organization’s vocabulary is one of the murkiest messes we can take on, but it also might be one of the most impactful ways we can help our organizations.
In this talk Abby Covert, staff information architect at Etsy, will share with us the strategies and tactics they are using to pay closer attention to language choices they make across both internal and external user experiences.
What is Heuristic evaluation
Background
Benefits
Main advantages and drawbacks of the method
Scenario and methods of evaluation
10 usability Heuristics in usability engineering
How to conduct heuristic Evaluation
Phases of the Evaluation Method
Problems and Evaluators
Seamlessness thought the whole user experience
The principles of user interface design are intended to improve the quality of user interface design.
• The structure principle: Design should organize the user interface purposefully, in meaningful and useful ways based on clear, consistent models that are apparent and recognizable to users, putting related things together and separating unrelated things, differentiating dissimilar things and making similar things resemble one another. The structure principle is concerned with overall user interface architecture.
• The simplicity principle: The design should make simple, common tasks easy, communicating clearly and simply in the user's own language, and providing good shortcuts that are meaningfully related to longer procedures.
• The visibility principle: The design should make all needed options and materials for a given task visible without distracting the user with extraneous or redundant information. Good designs don't overwhelm users with alternatives or confuse with unneeded information.
• The feedback principle: The design should keep users informed of actions or interpretations, changes of state or condition, and errors or exceptions that are relevant and of interest to the user through clear, concise, and unambiguous language familiar to users.
• The tolerance principle: The design should be flexible and tolerant, reducing the cost of mistakes and misuse by allowing undoing and redoing, while also preventing errors wherever possible by tolerating varied inputs and sequences and by interpreting all reasonable actions.
• The reuse principle: The design should reuse internal and external components and behaviors, maintaining consistency with purpose rather than merely arbitrary consistency, thus reducing the need for users to rethink and remember.
The Elements of User Experience provides an outline of all the factors that contribute to an overall user experience (UX), including Information Architecture, Usability Engineering, and Interaction Design. These elements affect how people perceive your brand, form opinions about your company’s trustworthiness, or feel persuaded by your message. Created by Malcolm Wolter, BrandExtract VP of Digital
A presentation on UX Experience Design: Processes and Strategy by Dr Khong Chee Weng from Multimedia University at the UX Indonesia-Malaysia 2014 that was conducted on the 26th April 2014 in the Hotel Bidakara, Jakarta, Indonesia.
The presentation will introduce you to the different ways teachers can help learners to be better prepared for life in the 21st century. There are many ideas which teachers are already using every day such as Global Awareness and Cross Curricular Skills, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration. The author of the presentation reflects on how we can develop such skills while teaching English to our students.
Guidelines regarding looking for a job, making an online profile, building rapport with co-workers, and with students, writing formal and informal letters regarding recent job positions, describing a position and its responsibilities. Why and how to create a social media page and how to get ready for a job-fair evant.
This presentation was made for the purpose of group presentation and in this we presented on the need of group discussion and personal interview for securing a job.
Communication is an inseparable aspect of daily life and we cannot live without communicating with anyone. Communication can take place in both ways; either in-person communication or communication through various social media platforms. However, effective communication is something that you need to know for various business purposes. As we communicate with innumerable people daily, we do not know what is the percentage of communication and how well it reaches the desired audience.
Effective communication means where we know what we are trying to communicate and the audience is getting exactly what we are trying to say. This communication is a very important aspect of both our professional and personal lives. It involves developing certain skills with the help of which we can exchange information with more clarity, understanding, and empathy. To know all about what is effective communication and how it can improve your career, do go for Project Management course as it will be a plus point in your career ahead.
Interactions South America 2015 KeynoteAbby Covert
How to Make Sense of Any Mess
In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all experiencing personal information overload, there is a growing need to understand the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren’t hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people’s education. Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of anything. Whether you are – a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive – learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.
Doors are our common language for passing into a place for commerce, socialization or pleasure. Passing from one experience to the next. Doors are our refuge at the end of a long day, they are the start to every work day, every meeting, every meal.
Search is the closest thing we have to a front door, yet it is so often forgotten in the design of user experiences.
Our digital world is becoming more and more like a real place, where we spend our time rather than a tool that we use and put down.
This short talk for Search Love Boston 2013 covers some ways in which user experience and search professionals can better work together to make the internet a better place.
Part one of a three part workshop co taught with Dan Klyn and Christina Wodtke on Feb 7, 2013 at General Assembly in NYC.
ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP
Information architecture (IA) once was practiced as a sort of web-era librarianship. It was about organizing the information contained within websites to make things easier to find and use. But today an increasingly significant proportion of our daily business is conducted digitally. Using a variety of devices, people communicate with one another, search for information and entertainment, make retail purchases, initiate and negotiate business transactions, and more.
This class will explore well-architected digital experiences. What does it mean to architect information? How does the structure of information relate to understanding? How can information architects manage complex information across channels and contexts? What unique value can professional information architects bring to the creation and delivery of products and services? What is the interplay of information architecture and the other disciplines within user experience? This class will provide a broad introduction to a useful set of tools and ideas that provide a framework under which user and business insight can be harvested and used in pursuit of real business goals.
Understanding What It Is Like to Not UnderstandAbby Covert
The eighth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: How to have a great conversation, interviewing basics, and how to write questions that get good answers.
Creating Clarity and Establishing TruthAbby Covert
The sixth class of a 15 week course in Information Architecture taught at Parsons, the New School for Design. Topics include: Addressing "What now?", Creating an Elevator Pitch to further clarify audience and purpose prior to feature level discussions.
Whether you are a designer, a developer, a marketer, a student or anything in between - in today's creative job market every differentiator will count towards getting the job. Gone are the days of being able to talk over your future employer's head, just showing the latest deliverable you are working on, even worse showing nothing at all. Welcome instead to a world where your work is being measured not by what you say it was, but by what it really was.
This workshop was developed for General Assembly in NYC. It is meant to be run in 90 minutes.
A client recently reached out to say he was totally new to the SXSW experience and was looking for "noob pointers" -- this is my top lessons learned from attending SXSW. Enjoy!
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Between Filth and Fortune- Urban Cattle Foraging Realities by Devi S Nair, An...Mansi Shah
This study examines cattle rearing in urban and rural settings, focusing on milk production and consumption. By exploring a case in Ahmedabad, it highlights the challenges and processes in dairy farming across different environments, emphasising the need for sustainable practices and the essential role of milk in daily consumption.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Transforming Brand Perception and Boosting Profitabilityaaryangarg12
In today's digital era, the dynamics of brand perception, consumer behavior, and profitability have been profoundly reshaped by the synergy of branding, social media, and website design. This research paper investigates the transformative power of these elements in influencing how individuals perceive brands and products and how this transformation can be harnessed to drive sales and profitability for businesses.
Through an exploration of brand psychology and consumer behavior, this study sheds light on the intricate ways in which effective branding strategies, strategic social media engagement, and user-centric website design contribute to altering consumers' perceptions. We delve into the principles that underlie successful brand transformations, examining how visual identity, messaging, and storytelling can captivate and resonate with target audiences.
Methodologically, this research employs a comprehensive approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses. Real-world case studies illustrate the impact of branding, social media campaigns, and website redesigns on consumer perception, sales figures, and profitability. We assess the various metrics, including brand awareness, customer engagement, conversion rates, and revenue growth, to measure the effectiveness of these strategies.
The results underscore the pivotal role of cohesive branding, social media influence, and website usability in shaping positive brand perceptions, influencing consumer decisions, and ultimately bolstering sales and profitability. This paper provides actionable insights and strategic recommendations for businesses seeking to leverage branding, social media, and website design as potent tools to enhance their market position and financial success.
Expert Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Drafting ServicesResDraft
Whether you’re looking to create a guest house, a rental unit, or a private retreat, our experienced team will design a space that complements your existing home and maximizes your investment. We provide personalized, comprehensive expert accessory dwelling unit (ADU)drafting solutions tailored to your needs, ensuring a seamless process from concept to completion.
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
3. objectives
• Understand the advantages to practicing
information architecture collaboratively
• Discover collaborative facilitation techniques
to use with coworkers and clients
• Build your toolbox with new diagrams and
techniques
• Answer common questions about practicing IA
collaboratively
5. what Problems does talking
about Ia help to alleviate?
• Disputes over what to call things
• Lack of clarity on what things “are”
• Overlaps in functionality & duplication of effort
• Lack of prioritization of audiences or goals
• Technical debt created by inconsistency or lack of
reusability of patterns
• Organizational inefficiency due to communication heft
7. What conflicts are common?
• Speaking different languages based on role
• Arguing about priority through a lens of organizational politics
• “This is how we have always done it” thinking
• Lacksonomy instead of taxonomy
• Other competencies ignoring or over-riding decisions made by IA
• Other competencies seeing IA as cosmetic and arbitrary
decisions
• Lack of time or budget for collaboration, testing and iteration
8. Story time
to: Jenn@bigCompany.com
from: Ann@bigCompany.com
Subject: We are hiring!
I am thrilled to announce we are planning to hire
3 new UX designers in the next month and another
5 by the end of this year!
10. Jenn and Ben set out to get
the lexicon started
to: Ann@bigCompany.com
from: Ben@bigCompany.com
Subject: Lexicon
I really enjoyed working with Jenn last week on the
lexicon assignment. Is there any way I could get all
of my team members access to it when she is done?
11. What could Jen have done
differently to mess this up?
• Jen could have written the lexicon alone based on her
understanding of the concepts and not asked for Ben’s help
• Jen could have written a draft of the lexicon and presented it
to Ben for his feedback, making the meeting more of a critique
• Jen could have emailed Ben a list of words and asked him to
write definitions of them for her (spoiler alert: he may have
never answered the email, taken forever to answer or written
overly complex and/or confusing definitions she would then
have to ask tons of questions about)
• Jen could have spent the whole time talking to Ben trying to
understand his point of view instead of picking up a marker
• Jen could have gotten frustrated over their lack of common
understanding and given up on the exercise entirely
12. what does this story teach us?
• Lesson 1: People can assume they understand
something clearly, until they compare that
understanding with another person’s
• Lesson 2: Complex definitions are sometimes
easier to discuss visually than just verbally
• Lesson 3: Defining concepts can be seen as a
helpful activity when done collaboratively and cross
functionally. The same activity when done in a silo
can be frustrating and seen as a waste of time
13. How can I make time or get time
for information architecture?
• Don’t ask for time for “doing the IA” — instead bake
talking about language and structure into every
interaction you have throughout the process
• Document the conflicts that need to be talked
through and explain the people and process you
need to resolve the conflicts
• Explain the ramifications of not resolving these
conflicts and building on “shaky ground”
• Be ok with the decision or mandate to build on shaky
ground (I use the three times at bat rule for pushing
back)
14. How does Ia fit into different
process styles?
• Agile: In Agile language and structure is defined very quickly
meaning that IA needs to be an ongoing discussion. Advice here
is to make sure there are KPIs being measured around structural
and linguistic integrity. Also make sure the IA documents are
shared and editable by anyone in the organization.
• Waterfall: In waterfall, you are more likely to be asked to create a
stopping point after which IA is “complete.” Advice here is to try to
position IA as something that isn't ever set completely, so that it is
shared amongst all stages of the process. This means that things
like maps and controlled vocabularies are continually updated
throughout the project.
15. How do I communicate Ia to my
organization?
• “Information architecture is a practice of deciding how to arrange
the parts of something to make sense as a whole. Because
what we call things and how we arrange them makes a big
difference to whether our users will understand us”
• “IA always exists, whether of not we think about it. If we don’t
think about it we are letting it grow organically which isn't always
the clearest and most effective way forward”
• “By thinking about IA our team can make sure that the language
and structures we choose will help us to reach our intention”
• “IA is best practiced collaboratively, so while I can help to
facilitate us thinking about our IA, I can’t do this without help of
others in the organization”
16. Dos and Donts of Communicating
Ia in an organization
• Don’t talk about IA
as a step in the
process
• Don’t propose IA as
a gate you have to
get through
• Don’t talk about the
concepts, talk about
the results
• Don’t try to own the
IA as an individual
• Do find places within the process
to talk about the clarity of
language and structure
• Do talk about IA as something
that will continue to grow and
change over time
• Do ask questions throughout the
project that makes it clear that
talking about IA is important
• Do assemble a group of people
that share the responsibility of
making IA decisions over time
18. My Ia Communication Plan
What issues do you see in your organization that IA could help alleviate?
Who are the people
who would be easiest
to communicate IA to?
Who are the people
who would be hardest
to communicate IA to?
Who are the people who
would be most critical to
communicate IA to?
What obstacles do you face in communicating IA?
What would need to happen to lessen those obstacles?
20. Stakeholder interviews
• Step 1: Identify the right stakeholders
• Step 2: Design the conversation
• Step 3: Seek Patterns & Divergence of Opinions
• Step 4: Be a mirror
21. Identify the right stakeholders
• Use the organization
chart to visualize who you
plan to talk to
• Make sure you are talking
to enough representative
people across the org
both in terms of level and
area of focus
22. Isolate them from the herd
“We think _________” “I think __________”
23. Design the conversation
• Position: Establish where this person sits in the space you are
exploring
• Convictions: Understand what they believe to be true and why
• Doubts: Understand what they have a hard time believing, what
makes them nervous and why
• Color: Ask anything else that will help to color in their
responses to their previous questions
• Questions: Always let them ask you questions. Sometimes the
best stuff comes out from what they ask
24. Some of my go-to questions
• If you had a magic wand and could change any one thing about
_________ what would it be and why?
• What do you see as the strengths of ___________? What about
the weaknesses?
• Is there any language that you see getting in the way of
communicating with our customers?
• Is there any language that you see getting in the way of
communicating internally?
• Is there anything I haven't ask about that you think I should know?
25. Some pointers
• Listen more than you speak. This is not your time to prove
how smart you are or share ideas or perceptions you have
• Leave silence. If they need time to think about their answer
leave them the silence to do so, don't react by expanding on
your question or rewording
• Record your interviews so you can be more active in listening
and making eye contact. Take simple notes throughout to
show that you are getting something out of the conversation
• Keep your notes in a spreadsheet organized by question so
you can sense patterns more easily
• If you take notes right after each interview, you will be more
likely to stay engaged in the material and it feels less like a
slog to get through
26. My template for note taking
Question Interviewee Name Interviewee Name Interviewee Name Interviewee Name
Question 1 Response Response Response Response
Question 2 Response Response Response Response
Question 3 Response Response Response Response
Question 4 Response Response Response Response
* Arrange columns and color code groups of people within a similar place in
the organization or role
27. Seek Patterns & Divergence of
Opinions
• Look first for the things that people agree on. Write a compelling headline
for each.
• Look second for the things that people are not in agreement over. Write a
compelling headline for each.
• After making a list of all the headlines in a spreadsheet, assign keywords
to each to see how they may be related to one another
• Area of the product/experience
• Sentiment of the concern
• Heuristic principle that is illustrated
• Start sorting by the keywords to see what emerges
• Create logical groupings of findings connected by a theme
• Decide the right order to present findings in
28. Example from my work
Example of Findings Spreadsheet
Example of Findings Presentation
29. Be the mirror
• If you think a point is obvious, make it anyways
• Present the why, not just the what
• Share quotes from interviews without attribution to get points
across that are tough to make
• Don’t let your opinions leak into what you present
• Say the thing that everyone was talking around but not saying
• Ask questions of the group based on what you heard
• Present both sides of anything that might be disagreed on
• Visualize mental models that differ from one another
30. How to have low fidelity group
conversations about language
• Set an agenda with time blocks and share it with attendees so they
know where you are going with this activity
• Start by asking the group about opportunities and risks that this
session has. Have everyone write their answers and then go
around and share with the room.
• Arrange the agenda from broad to specific
• Breakdown mental models slowly:
• Start with giving people time to think individually
• Then pair people up to compare notes
• Then have pairs combine into small groups
• Finally open to full group discussion
32. What about for really big
groups?
• Facilitate smaller groups with similar mental models to get to know
their thought process better
• Identify one person who can represent that group in a larger, more
cross functional group. This person should be:
• Interested in the activity
• Allowed to take action
• Willing to listen and participate in semantic debate
33. pointers for Running a
collaborative ia session
• Ask people to set aside technology for the session (don’t allow the
“I’m taking notes” excuse… they aren’t, instead establish a note
taker for the group and project their screen as they take notes)
• Don’t be afraid to call on someone who hasn't spoken up
• Always establish a parking lot for topics that leak into the meeting
that aren't the focus. Allow anyone to call “parking lot”, and make
sure it gets written down so it is actually parked.
• Always position collaborative sessions as exploratory, meaning
there are no bad ideas or wrong ways of thinking
• Ask for honesty AND kindness as activities are undertaken
• Always end a session by asking for advice of your participants. “As
you know, I will be working on the things we talked about today,
what advice do you have for me?”
34. Visualize language with simple
pictures to get clarity
• Draw and Share: Have your attendees draw the
concept in the way that they understand it and
compare their drawings with each other
• Round 1: Individual Draw
• Round 2: Pair Draw
• Round 3: Groups of 4 Draw
• Round 4: Facilitated Draw
• Pictionary: Have one attendee draw their
understanding of a concept so that others can react to
it and ask questions
36. Dealing with difficult people
• Identify anyone who is potentially difficult during the stakeholder
interview process. Spend extra energy making sure that person
feels heard and understands the process they are taking part in
• If things get heated in the session, give that person the marker
and ask them to visualize the conflict as they see it
• Take their side for the sake of clarifying the conflict. “I think I see
what so-and-so is saying here…”
• If they are mean or inappropriate, tell them that is not productive
to the discussion and remind them that this collaboration involves
seeing many sides of the same argument
• Don’t be dismissive of their opinion or ideas but make them
explain themselves and answer to others’ questions about it
38. Instructions
• Round 1: Draw a visual model of this conference
• What are the pieces of it?
• What are the connections between those pieces?
• Round 2: Compare your picture with a partner
and create a combined model
• Did you use the same words?
• What pieces or connections did have that you didn’t?
• Round 3: Compare with another team and create
a combined visual model
39. How to Mine for language
Language in
the product
Language in
the marketing
Language in
help & support
Language we
use internally
Language users
use naturally
• Look for needless duplicity
• Look for legacy terms that
have stuck around
• Look for inside baseball terms
that might not be clear to users
41. ask questions about efficiency,
clarity and intention
Do we need all
five labels for
this thing?
Are these really
the same model
with two labels
or two different
concepts?
42. Is this a difference of Model or
simply a difference of Label?
vs.
44. Tips for mining for language
• Start with nouns. Take on verbs secondarily. Beware of
adjectives.
• Use notes from user and stakeholder interviews to layer
on verbal only language that might be useful to
understand in connection with documented language
• Ask questions like:
• “When you say _____ what do you mean?”
• “Is _____ the same as ______?
• “Why did we start calling it _________?”
45. Controlled Vocabularies
Term Definition History Approved Synonyms
• A good controlled vocabulary:
• Captures the history of a term
• Lists the other words that may describe the same model
• Defines terms simply and defines words within the definition
46. Ideas to get people to actually
use the controlled vocabulary
• When first created: consider distribution through a “word of
the day” feature
• To get people to retire terms: Make posters of “words we
don't say” and post them in the meeting spaces around your
office — when all else fails, try using a gym whistle
• To make sure it stays fresh: Create a cross functional
working group to govern upkeep of language documentation.
These folks are like resident advisors for ontological choices.
They help resolve linguistic issues and educate others on the
documentation available
• To make sure it is adhered to: Make a linguistic review part
of the standards that are expected to be adhered to in terms of
style guides or launch checklists
47. Story time: why It is important to
define the words within the words
49. Association Diagram
• Illustrates connections
between concepts that don’t
adhere to navigable paths
• Best for showing hierarchical
relationships at a higher level
51. Block Diagram
• Illustrates how objects and
their attributes interrelate
• Best for breaking complex
concepts into smaller pieces
for discussion and
clarification
53. Journey Maps
• Illustrates how a process or activity happens across
contexts and channels
• Good for helping people break down silos and look at
things from the end users perspective
55. Swim Lane Diagram
• Illustrates how many people
work together on a single
process
• Good for documenting the
tasks within a task and how
those map to role
57. Gantt Chart
• Illustrates how tasks relate to
each other over time and role
• Good for breaking a process
down to reveal predecessors
and dependencies
60. Quadrant Diagram
• Illustrates how a group of
concepts or ideas compare to
one another on two or more
qualifiers
• Best for prioritizing or
showing white space
62. Tips for Collaborating on
diagrams
• Share the work of writing and drawing with your partners
• Take the time and space needed to get through the
material, don’t rush or exhaust people
• For more complex subject matter, take it in rounds - not
all at once
• Keep it messy and low fidelity until the content is feeling
solid enough to get confirmation on
• Always have a format in mind when collecting but stay
flexible as you figure out what is needed
63. Tips for getting feedback on
diagrams
• Share the diagram ahead of a critique meeting for people
to spend time looking at
• Take the time to sit down with a few key stakeholders one
on one to show them the diagram with the intent to make
it clear. Don’t spend this time convincing them. You are
usability testing the diagram and they are your users
• Keep the visual polish off the diagram until the content
has been confirmed, this makes it quicker for you to edit
but also encourages feedback
• Always ask for critical feedback on how to make it more
clear and try to not defend or explain things you think are
already clear
64. Unnecessary
exactitude
Not Tidy
Designed
before
Architected
Unclear
Audience
Icon
Issues
Not appropriate
for scale
Unclear scope
Unclear
timescale
Unclear
context
Lengthy
labels
Not appropriate
for medium
Too Many
Colors
FREE No Labels Stacked Type
Confusing
relationships
between things
Unclear
intent
Unclear
Labels
Color doesn’t
mean what we
think it means
Hard to read
Misleading
Data
Manipulation
Unclear
Logic or Flow
Contrast
Ratio issues
Confusing line
crossings
Ill alignment
or spacing
Diagram Critique Bingo
http://abbytheia.com/2015/02/17/diagram-critique-bingo/
65. What is one thing you
learned today that you
will take back to work?
66. What I hope you learned today:
• Too much IA is practiced solo, and presented to others
• By sharing the responsibility we can get further, faster
• Practicing IA collaboratively means putting aside your
ego (and sometimes your ideas)
• There is no singular process or defining
documentation technique that always works,
prescribing is part of the work
• Anyone can practice IA, and more people should be