Information Architecture

"A helpful analogy for good navigation is to think of the menus/submenus of your site as if they were the table of contents of a textbook. The table of contents should not be cluttered with items that do not describe the main content areas of the book. Therefore, the main navigation of your site should not include links to pages outside of your site, downloadable documents or e-mail addresses."

- Princeton Style Guide

What are the session 1 takeaways?

1- IA is the intersection of Users+Content+Context 2-Web IA is not in a bubble but an ongoing, collaborative and iterative process. 3-IA is refined over time as more data is collected. 4-There are doc tools to help build and communicate web IA.

What are some of our everyday messes?

1- The structure of teams and organizations. 2-The processes we undertake in working together. 3-The ways products and services are represented, sold, and delivered to us. 4-The ways we communicate with each other.

What are common IA Classification Schemes?

1-Alphabetic. 2-Geographic. 3-Format. 4-Organizational Structure. 5-Task. 6-Audience. 7-Subject/Topic. 8-Combination Schemes.

What are some examples of IA?

1-Dictionary or encyclopedia cross-referencing systems. 2-Links in website navigation. 3-Restaurant menu sections, labels and names. 4-Application labels, tasks and categories. 5-Airport or train station directional signs.

Good IA allows people to do?

1-Find information they need. 2-Find information they didn't know they needed. 3-Make better decisions. 4-Complete information tasks faster with more accuracy.

What are top 3 IA Questions about Navigation Menus?

1-How Many Categories Should We Have? 2-Should Categories Be Listed in Alphabetical Order? 3-Should Hover-Activated Menus Be Eliminated Since Touch Devices Don't Allow Hovering?

What are 5 IA NAVIGATION mistakes?

1-Invisible Navigation Options. 2-Uncontrollable Navigation Elements. 3-Inconsistent Navigation. 4-Too Many Navigation Techniques. 5-Made-Up Menu Options.

What are 3 complexities commonly encountered?

1-Lacking clear direction. 2-Maintaining useful connections with people and systems. 3-Differing interpretations.

What are 5 IA STRUCTURE mistakes?

1-No Structure. 2-Search and Structure not integrated. 3-Missing category landing pages. 4-Extreme polyhierarchy. 5-Subsites and Microsites poorly integrated with main site.

How does good IA provide good UX?

1-Provides validation. 2-Provides orientation. 3-Fosters credibility. 4-Provides way-finding and navigation.

What are the causes of confusing information?

1-Too much information. 2-Not enough information. 3-Not the right information. 4-Some combination of these.

Instone's 3 Questions

1-Where am I? 2-What's here? 3-Where can I go?

What are the three key elements of Site Structure?

1-navigation—methods for enabling wayfinding. 2-information organization—classification of content and objects of all types. 3-information relationship—associating content with lower levels of information and concepts.

What are the two main components of website IA?

1. Identification and definition of site content and functionality. 2. The underlying organization, structure and nomenclature that define the relationships between a site's content/functionality.

How many users does it take to uncover 80% of high-level usability problems?

5

What Is Website Navigation?

A collection of user interface components aimed to help users find information and functionality, and encourage them to take desirable actions.

What is the issue with Inconsistent Navigation?

Although global navigation is not a site's most popular element, its persistence serves a key purpose: it's a beacon that helps users understand both where they are and how they can easily maneuver back to the top of the site if they lose their way.

Fourth element in the definition of Information Architecture?

An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture ot the digital landscape.

What is the issue with Uncontrollable Navigation Elements?

Anything that moves and bounces detracts from Web usability; when navigation moves while users are trying to find their way. Users should focus on the higher-level problem of where to go, not the lower-level problem of how to manipulate the GUI.

What is the IA cycle?

Asking, Understanding, Designing then REPEAT

What is the Principle Of Front Doors?

Assume at least half of the website's visitors will come through some page other than the home page.

What is the Principle Of Growth?

Assume the content you have today is a small fraction of what you'll have tomorrow.

What is the issue with Invisible Navigation Options?

Avoid "banner blindness bleed", when either the navigation itself looks like a banner or you place it next to elements that look like advertising and thus users screen it out.

Why must structure and navigation must support each other and integrate with search and across subsites?

Because complexity, inconsistency, hidden options, and clumsy UI mechanics prevent users from finding what they need

What is the issue with Subsites/Microsites Poorly Integrated with Main Site?

Both microsites and subsite of product-specific pages often fail to link to information about the company or organization behind the offering. Further, many sites poorly represent their subsites in the main site search — which often ignores microsites altogether.

What is the issue with Extreme Polyhierarchy?

By creating numerous weak categories and listing products multiple times within them users spend too much time agonizing over top-level categories and then get confused when they see items showing up in multiple places

What activities are undertaken in developing an IA?

Content Inventory, Content Audit, Information Grouping, Taxonomy Development and Descriptive Information creation.

What is the Principle Of Choices?

Create pages that offer meaningful choices to users, keeping the range of choices available focused on a particular task.

Why is information not synonymous with Data or Content?

Data is facts, observations, and questions about something. Content can be cookies, words, documents, images, videos, or whatever you're arranging or sequencing.

What is Taxonomy Development?

Definition of a standardized naming convention (controlled vocabulary) to apply to all site content

What is Descriptive Information Creation?

Definition of useful metadata that can be utilized to generate "Related Link" lists or other navigation components that aid discovery

What is Information Grouping?

Definition of user-centered relationships between content

What is the Principle Of Exemplars?

Describe the contents of categories by showing examples of the contents.

What is the issue when Search And Structure Are Not Integrated?

Design must also expose local options to users. Even better if it indicates how relevant the neighboring options are to the user's current query. SERP usability increases when each search hit exposes its location within the site structure

What is the Principle Of Focused Navigation?

Don't mix apples and oranges in your navigation scheme.

What is the issue with Too Many Navigation Techniques?

Each navigation technique has its place on certain types of websites and intranets. But, if you use them all, you don't get the sum of each technique's benefits. You get a mess.

What is a Content Audit?

Evaluation of content usefulness, accuracy, tone of voice, and overall effectiveness

What is a Content Inventory?

Examination of a website to locate and identify existing site content

What components does Website Navigation include?

Global navigation, local navigation, utility navigation, breadcrumbs, filters, facets, related links, footers, fat footers, and so on.

What is Usage Priority?

How much will users rely on this navigation component? For example, will users primarily navigate the site using local navigation? Or are they likely to more heavily rely on related links?

What is the Difference Between Information Architecture (IA) and Navigation?

IA is the information backbone of the site; navigation refers to those elements in the UI that allow users to reach specific information on the site.

Why should you define IA before designing Navigation?

Ignoring the volume and complexity of the content and making navigation component choices based on looks alone creates a site that doesn't best serve the needs of users or accommodate your content.

What is the issue with Made-Up Menu Options?

In addition to perplexing users, made-up navigation terms also hurt search; users can't find something if they don't know what it's called. Even if you provide synonyms, the main navigation terms carry extra SEO weight and it's a waste to optimize for a query that nobody will issue.

Why might an organization hire a professional IA?

Increased site-content volume—from either an organization's content owners or user-generated content—volatility in site usage, or a growing user base

What is the issue with Missing Category Landing Pages?

It is recommended that sites have a series of categories that each link to their own landing page that gives users a section overview otherwise users can misunderstand the site's scope and miss important details, products, and services.

What is information?

It is what is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.

What does web navigation do?

It plays a major role in shaping our experiences on the web. It provides access to information in a way that enhances understanding, reflects brand, and lends to overall credibility of a site. And ultimately, web navigation and the ability to find information have a financial impact for stakeholders

What will a successful Information Architect do?

Look at the business needs, end user habits and what technology has to offer then create a blueprint for how to organize the website so that it will meet the above needs.

What are some IA deliverables?

Navigation reviews, Heuristic Evaluation Report, Personas, Task analysis, Site Path Analysis, Peer Analysis, Content Audits, Content Inventories, Concept Diagrams, Topic Diagrams, Sitemaps and Wireframes.

What is the issue when a site has No Structure?

No opportunities for understanding the site's other offerings or locating related items. Where each item is treated as a stand-alone unit without connections to related items.

When designing a new site, can designers ignore the IA and focus only on the navigation?

No, navigation that does not adequately accommodate the full scope of content and functionality of a site can be very costly.

What is the Principle Of Multiple Classification?

Offer users several different classification schemes to browse the site's contents.

What is Placement?

On which pages should it be present? Where should it be placed within the page layout grid (e.g., top, left, right, bottom)?

What projects are in the most need for IA skills?

Projects that require organizing and managing large amounts of content with structure, navigation and labeling.

What is SERP?

Search engine results page

What is the first step in taming a mess?

Shine a light on it so you can outline its edges and depths.

What is the Principle Of Disclosure?

Show only enough information to help people understand what kinds of information they'll find as they dig deeper.

What does Site Structure do?

Site structure embodies order and organization for content on the Web.

What does IA involve?

Taking a lot of disorganized information and making it useful for people.

Third element in the definition of Information Architecture?

The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability.

What is the official DSIA Research Initiative definition of Site Structure?

The coherent order and relations between physical and abstract constructs in support of a communicated design.

Second element in the definition of Information Architecture?

The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation within websites and intranets.

What is the difference between Content, Data and Information?

The difference between information, data, and content is tricky, but the important point is that the absence of content or data can be just as informing as the presence.

What is the difference between IA and the UI?

The information architecture (IA) is not part of the on-screen user interface (UI) — rather, IA informs UI.

What is a Lacksonomy?

The organic structure that emerges from an unwillingness to think about how to structure something.

First element in the definition of Information Architecture?

The structural design of share information environments.

What is the Principle Of Objects?

Treat content as a living, breathing thing with a life-cycle, behaviors and attributes

What decisions need to be made with each Website Navigation component?

Usage priority, Placement and Pattern.

What is a good working definition of UX?

User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

What is the intersection of IA?

Where Content, Context and Users meet.

What is meant by Pattern?

Which navigation design patterns best support findability and discoverability — tabs, megamenus, carousels, accordions, and so on?