Lesson #1: Introduction to Information Architecture

What do librarians and information architects have in common?

"...libraries and librarians add value to printed materials by placing them within the framework of an information architecture that facilitates access to those materials. Information architects perform a similar role, but we typically do it within the context of web sites" (p.7)

the "berry-picking" model

- Dr. Marcia Bates 1. users start with an information need 2. formulate an information request (query) 3. move iteratively through an information system long potentially complex paths, picking up bits of information "berries" along the way 4. in the process, they modify their information requests as they learn more about what they need and what information is available through the system.

navigation systems

- how we browse or move through information help users move through the content, such as an A-Z, Go quickly to, menu of popular destinations

organization systems

- how we categorize information present the site's information to us in a variety of ways, such as content categories that pertain to the entire campus, or to specific audiences

labeling systems

- how we represent information describe categories, options, and links in language that hopefully is meaningful to users

search systems

- how we search information allow users to search the content

What are some of the shortcomings of the "too simple model"?

- narrowly focuses on what happens while the user is interacting with the information architecture; leaves out context - cedes so many great opportunities to find out what goes in users' heads and observe actions - it's built on a misconception: that finding information is a straightforward problem that can be addressed by a simple, algorithmic approach

What are some information-seeking behaviors?

- searching - browsing - asking - integration - iteration

How does an information architect use context?

1. Understand the business context. 2. Then find ways to align the information architecture with the goals, strategy, and culture of the businesses.

Give an alternate method of categorizing information components. (4 total)

1. browsing aids 2. search aids 3. content and tasks 4. invisible components

What are four core types of information need?

1. known-item seeking 2. exploratory seeking 3. exhaustive search 4. re-finding an item

Basic information structures

1. organization systems 2. navigation systems 3. search systems 4. labeling systems

What are the four categories of information components?

1. organization systems: how we categorize information 2. labeling systems: how we represent information 3. navigation systems: how we browse or move through information 4. searching systems: how we search information.

What are the six distinguishing factors of each information ecology?

1. ownership- who creates and owns it 2. format- digital formats 3. structure- of documents 4. metadata- level of quality and consistency 5. volume- how much content 6. dynamism- rate of growth/turnover

Why is it important to visualize information architecture?

1. the field is new and many people don't believe in something unless they see it 2. the field is abstract, and many people won't really get it until they see it and experience it. 3. a well-designed information architecture is invisible to users

the "two-step" model

1. users first need to know where to look for information they need; search or browse a directory until they find a good candidate or two 2. then perform second step: looking for information within those subsites (different information seeking behaviors at each step)

the "pearl-growing" approach

1. users start with one or a few good documents that are exactly what they need 2. attempt to find more like this one

Name a few fields that are NOT information architecture.

Graphic design, software development, usability engineering

How will a better understanding of what users actually want help you as an information architect?

It will help you determine and prioritize which components to build and makes your job much simpler, especially considering all the options you will have to choose from.

knowledge management

develop tools, policies, and incentives to encourage people to share what they know; creating a collaborative knowledge environment (NOT IA)

enterprise architecture

focused on data and system integration; encompasses business, process, information, and technology architectures (NOT strictly IA)

Content

includes documents, applications, services, schema, and metadata that people need to use or find on your site; it's the stuff that makes up your site

bottom-up information architecture

information architecture that is embedded in the guts of content; chunking and sequences; content structure, sequencing, and tagging helps you answer questions such as: 1.Where am I? 2. What's here? 3. Where can I go from here? * users are increasingly likely to bypass your site's top-down information architecture; instead they are using search tools

information ecology

interdependent nature of users, content, and context within the complex, adaptive environment

What is a major problem faced by information architects

invisibility; we have to be salesmen because so much of our work goes on behind the scenes

search analytics

involves reviewing the most common search queries on your site (usually stored in your search engine's log files) as a way to diagnose problems with search performance, metadata, navigation, and content - provides a sense of what users usually seek and can help inform your understanding of their information needs and seeking behaviors

browsing aids

present users with a predetermined set of paths to help them navigate the site; users don't articulate their queries, but instead find their way through menus and links

Graphic design

responsible for all aspects of visual communication, from the design of logos to the layout of individual pages; NOT IA

Information Architecture

the art and science of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, online communities, and software to support usability (This definition emphasizes: 1. IA is applicable to other digital organizations or systems besides just web sites 2. usability is an intrinsic aspect that must be supported

context

the mission, goals, strategy, staff, processes, procedures, physical and technology infrastructure, budget, and culture-- unique to each organization

top-down information architecture

tries to anticipate users' major information needs and designed the site to meet those needs: 1. Where am I? 2. I know what I'm looking for; how do I search for it? 3. How do I get around this site? 4. What's important and unique about this organization? 5. What's available on this site? 6. What's happening there? 7. Do they want my opinion about their site? 8. How can I contact a human? 9. What's their address?

iteration

trying new approaches each time; each iteration of searching, browsing, asking, and interacting with content can greatly impact what it is we are seeking.

contextual navigation systems

type of browsing aid consistently presented links to related content; often embedded in text, and generally used to connect highly specialized content within a site

sitemaps / tables of contents

type of browsing aid navigation systems that supplement primary navigation systems; provide a condensed overview of and links to major content areas and subsites within the site, usually in an outline form

local navigation systems

type of browsing aid primary navigation systems that help users understand where they are and where they can go within a PORTION of the site

site-wide navigation systems

type of browsing aid primary navigation systems that help users understand where they are and where they can go within a site (e.g. breadcrumbs)

site wizards

type of browsing aid supplementary navigation systems that lead users through a sequential set of steps; may also link to a related subset of the site's content

site indices

type of browsing aid supplementary navigation systems that provide an alphabetized list of links to the contents of the site

organization systems (2)

type of browsing aid the main ways of categorizing or grouping a site's content (ex. by topic, by chronology, by audience, by task); also known as taxonomies and hierarchies; includes tag clouds (based on user-generated tags)

sequential aids

type of content and task / content and task component clues that suggest where the user is in an information system (e.g. a logo specifying which site she is using, or a breadcrumb explaining where in the site she is)

lists

type of content and task / content and task component groups of chunks or links to chunks; these are important because they have been grouped together (e.g. they share some trait in common) and have been presented in a particular order (e.g. chronologically)

embedded metadata

type of content and task / content and task component information that can be used as metadata but must first be extracted

headings

type of content and task / content and task component labels for the content that follows them

embedded links

type of content and task / content and task component links within text; these label (i.e. represent) the content they link to

chunks

type of content and task / content and task component logical units of content; these can vary in granularity (e.g. sections and chapters are both chunks), and can be nested (e.g. a section is part of a book)

thesauri

type of invisible component controlled vocabularies that generally include links to broader and narrower terms, related terms, and descriptions of preferred terms -search systems can enhance queries by extracting a query's synonyms from a controlled vocabulary

controlled vocabularies

type of invisible component predetermined vocabularies or preferred terms that describe a specific domain; typically include variant terms -search systems can enhance queries by extracting a query's synonyms from a controlled vocabulary

best bets

type of invisible component preferred search results that are manually coupled with a search query; editors and subject matter experts determine which queries should retrieve best bets, and which documents merit best bet status

retrieval algorithms

type of invisible component used to rank search results by relevance; retrieval algorithms reflect their programmers judgments on how to determine relevance

query language

type of search aid / search component grammar of a search query; query languages might include Boolean operators (e.g. AND, OR, NOT), proximity operators (e.g. ADJACENT, NEAR), or ways of specifying which field to search (e.g. AUTHOR="Shakespeare")

search interface

type of search aid / search component means of entering and revising a search query, typically with information on how to improve your query as well as other ways to configure your search (e.g. selecting from specific search zones)

search results

type of search aid / search component presentation of content that matches the user's search query; involves decisions of what types of content should make up each individual result, how many results to display, and how sets of results should be ranked, sorted, and clustered

search zones

type of search aid / search component subsets of site content that have been separately indexed to support narrower searching (e.g. searching the text support area within a software vendor's site)

retrieval algorithms

type of search aid / search component the part of a search engine that determines what content matches a user's query; Google's PageRank is a well-known example

query builders

type of search aid / search component ways of enhancing a query's performance; common examples include spell checkers, stemming, concept searching, and drawing in synonyms from a thesaurus

What are three other names for information architect?

user-experience designers; knowledge managers; findability engineers

content and tasks

users' ultimate destinations, as opposed to separate components that get users TO their destinations; difficult to separate content and tasks, as there are components embedded in content and tasks that help us find our way

interaction design

concerned with the behavior of tasks and processes that users encounter in software and information systems at the interface level; focused on helping users successfully achieve goals and complete tasks; NOT IA

Why does information architecture matter?

cost of finding information, cost of not finding information cost of educating customers about new products and services cost of maintaining designs over time cost of training personnel on a system; how much could you save if it was easy to use value of brand- if customers can't find it, brand loses value

content management

describes a temporal view of the information system, showing how it should flow into, around, and out of that same system over time; deal with issues of content ownership and integration of policies, processes, and technologies to support a dynamic publishing environment (not IA)

contextual inquiry

a user research method that allows you to observe how users interact with information in their "natural setting" and in that context ask them why they're doing what they're doing

search aids

allow the entry of a user-defined query (e.g. search) and automatically present users with a customized set of results that match their queries; dynamic and mostly automated counterparts to browsing aids

experience design

an umbrella term that encompasses many different fields; focuses on the holistic user experiences; aren't that many people with that many skills in that many areas-- few and far between

usability engineering

apply the rigors of scientific method to user research, testing, and analysis; test all aspects of the user experience, inclusive of IA and graphic design; NOT IA alone

"invisible" components

are manifested completely in the background users rarely (if ever) interact with them; these components often "feed" other components, such as a thesaurus that's used to enhance a search query

integration

blending different seeking behaviors into the same finding session )ex. integrate searching, browsing, and asking)

software development

bring the ideas of information architects to fruition and help us understand what is and isn't possible (not IA alone)