A short discussion about Information Architecture

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(No Transcript)
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A short discussion about Information Architecture
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What we will cover

• Organization
• Navigation
• Labeling
• Searching and Browsing
• Conceptual Design

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Organizing Information

• how we organize our information tells the world
  about who we are, what we are, what we stand for
• challenge of ever-growing WWW more freedom to
  publish information, greater responsibility in
  organizing information

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Organizing Information

• classification systems are built on language
  which is often ambiguous (not clear)
• challenge of putting together information in
  different formats text, graphics, sound, etc.
• as information providers our view of how
  information should be organized may differ with
  those of the users

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Organizational Schemes

• alphabetical
• chronological
• geographical
• topical
• task-oriented
• audience-specific
• metaphor-driven
• hybrid schemes

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Organizational Structures

• heirarchy top-down approach
• relational database model bottom-up approach

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Designing Navigation Systems

• Provide Context
• it should be clear to users that they are in your
  site
• indicate to user here location within the
  heirarchy of the site
• Provide Flexibility
• allow user to jump across branches (lateral
  navigation), or
• between multiple levels (vertical navigation)

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Types of Navigation Systems

• Heirarchical
• Global
• Local
• Adhoc

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Navigation Elements

• navigation bars
• frames
• pull down menus
• remote navigation elements like table of
  contents, index, site map, guided tour

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Labeling

• labels are needed to represent large groups of
  information effectively and efficiently without
  taking up too much of a pages vertical space
• can be textual (use words) or iconic (use
  graphics)
• used as links to information in other pages
• used as headings that break up and identify
  groups of information on the same page (

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Example of labels

• Main, Main Page, Home, Home Page
• Search, Find, Browse, Search/Browse, Site Map,
  Contents, Table of Contents, Index
• Contact, Conctact Us, Contact Webmaster, Feedback
• Help, FAQ, Frequently Asked Questions
• News, Whats New
• About, About Us, About ltorganizations namegt, Who
  We Are

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Why use labels?

• users time is precious
• we want our users to feel that we are reliable
• we want the sites labels to speak the same
  language as our users (this is real challenge in
  Asia!)

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A good labeling systems should be planned.
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Some Tips

• make your labels descriptive and differentiated
  from one another (example global vis-à-vis
  international)
• use the same label consistently across your the
  site
• scope notes can be helpful
• study how other sites use labels
• consult existing thesauri
• consult intended users

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Searching or Browsing?

• Users need to find information in our site more
  easily
• Confusion over searchability and findability
• Some many users want to search a site, others
  just want to browse

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Users have different needs

• some users dont have time to browse
• some users serach when they dont necessarily
  need know what they are looking for

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Users search for information differently

• known-item searching they know exactly what they
  are looking for
• existence searching they know what they want but
  dont know how to describe it
• explanatory searching they know how to phrase
  their question but dont know exactly what they
  are hoping to find, they are just exploring
• research they want everything thats available
  on a given topic

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Not all users are looking for the same thing.
Anticipate the most common types of needs and
ensure that these needs are met.
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Search Engines, when to build them

• when the site has grown in volume of informaton
  and in complexity of organization
• if the site contains highly dynamic content, e.g.
  updated on a daily basis
• when you are ready with the responsibility of
  designing, configuring and maintaining a search
  engine

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Searching and Browsing

• users often alternate between searching and
  browsing
• users often dont know if they need to search or
  to browse

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Conceptual Design

• Designing our Web site involves answering the
  following
• How should the information be organized?
• How does the heirarchy look like?
• How will the information be labeled at the
  highest level of heirarchy?
• Are we implementing searching or browsing or both?

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Collaborative Methods for Designing

• Using White Boards and Flip Charts to illustrate
  the architecture
• Using metaphors to communicating complex ideas
  and generating enthusiasm
• Using scenarios
• Using Architecture Blueprints
• Using Architectural Page Mockups
• Using design Sketches
• Using Web-based Prototypes