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INFM 700: Session 1
What is Information Architecture?
Paul JacobsThe iSchoolUniversity of Maryland
Monday, August 31, 2009
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United StatesSee http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ for details
iSchool
Today’s Topics Overview of course
The architecture analogy
Information architecture: topics and issues
Course administration and logistics
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Information Architecture What is it? (for starters)
Architecture – structural design [of web sites] to support function and form
Information – organized [electronic] content
So our goal is to master the design of web sites for organizations that effectively deliver information to their users
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Good Information Architecture Users find what they need (e.g., information
content)
Users get what they need (e.g., a book, a plane reservation, a stock trade)
Users learn what they need (e.g., how to install a driver, use a piece of software)
Users don’t waste time
Users are happyCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Good Information Architecture Organizations have happy users/customers
Organizations make money/save money
Organizations get their message across
Organizations can keep things going and make changes when necessary
Organizations are happyCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Bad Information Architecture Users can’t get what they want/need, are
confused or frustrated
Users go away or go to a competitor’s site
Organizations waste/lose money or fail to gain revenues/clients/users
Organizations are unhappy
We get firedCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Information Architecture: Tools and Techniques (Examples)
Understanding the user experience (e.g., user studies, card sorting, search log analysis)
Vocabulary and labeling systems
Organization/navigation aids and tools (e.g. navigation bars, menus, site index, hierarchies/hypertext, breadcrumbs)
Search engines
Design tools (e.g., wireframes, blueprints)
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Information Architecture: Business and Process
Information architecture strategy
Business processes
Build vs. buy
Team composition and skills
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Information Architecture: Segue What is it? [from the text]
The structural design of shared information environments
The combination of organization, labeling, search, navigation systems within Web sites and intranets
The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability
An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape
Now let’s consider the architecture analogy…
from M&R, p. 4
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Examples of Architecture…
Image source: Wikipedia
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Why architecture? What does designing buildings have to do with
designing Web sites?
What is architecture really about?
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
The Architecture Analogy A building must…
Look good Be usable (for working, living, playing, etc.) Stand up
A web site must… Look good Be usable (e.g., find or get what you need) Stay up (i.e., not crash, last over a period of years)
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Other Parallels… Combination of art vs. engineering
Image source: Wikipedia
Florence Cathedral, with dome designed by Brunelleschi
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Other Parallels… “Pretty” but unusable:
Countless examples…what else?
Image source: Wikipedia
Ray and Maria Stata Center, MIT; designed by Frank Gehry
Rhode Island School of Design: http://www.risd.edu/
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Importance of Metaphors Metaphors describe/shape our thoughts
Anger as heat (see Lakoff and Johnson, Metaphors we Live By)
Political “framing” (e.g., “death tax”, “tax relief”, see Lakoff, Don’t Think of an Elephant)
Why are metaphors so pervasive?
Why are metaphors important in information architecture?
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Metaphors on the Web Question: What types of metaphors do we need
on the web?
Interactive metaphors “Pull down”, “pop up”, “open” “Window”, “toolbar” “Shop”, “check out”, “cart”
Navigational metaphors “Browse”, “surf” “Table of contents”, “site index”
Are metaphors consistent? Do we all apply the same metaphors?
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
The Architecture Analogy: Summary The analogy is helpful
…in explaining information architecture to friends and family
…in understanding and analyzing IA concepts …in applying IA concepts to web design
Like all analogies, it goes only so far Web sites are not buildings
Consider the role of analogy and metaphor in any user-centered software activity
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Information Architecture: Topics and Issues Key concepts of information architecture
Organizing content (e.g., labeling, hierarchies)
Search systems
Technologies, tools and techniques
Business issues
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Examples of IA
iSchool
Examples of IA
iSchool
Examples of IA
iSchool
Examples of IA
iSchool
IA just for the Web? The Web is a great vehicle for illustrating IA
principles
The Web is evolving: Web 1.0: Web as a hypertext system Web 2.0: Web as a software interface Web 3.0: ??
Think of it simply as a platform: Plain-old websites Large corporate intranets Mail client Productivity applications …
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Why IA is vaguely defined IA is multi-disciplinary
IA is as much an art as it is a science
IA is “messy”
IA lacks an underpinning theory
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Overlapping Disciplines Library and information science
Computer Science Human-Computer Interaction Information Retrieval Databases Software Engineering
Graphics design
Cognitive psychology
“User experience engineering”
…
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
What is Clear? The Objective (good web sites)
The Focus (delivering information content)
The Methods
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Course Administration and Logistics General expectations
Requirements
Grading
Other
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
What you can expect from me Practical focus
If it’s not useful, we won’t worry about it too much Emphasis on concepts Consideration for how it’s done in the “real world”
Desire that everyone should succeed Set clear and concrete objectives where possible Work together to learn/to achieve goals No “easy way out” Listen and respond to questions/objections, flexibility
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
What I expect from you Preparation
Do readings Turn in work on time “Fill in the blanks”
Participation Ask when things are unclear Give examples/tell stories Help with programmatics
Honesty across the boardCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
My Teaching Philosophy Emphasis on users
… but with a grounding in technology
Emphasis on synthesis … not rote learning
Emphasis on projects … mirroring real-life case studies
Emphasis on group work … but individual competence must be demonstrated
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Major Course Components Lectures and discussion
In-class exercises
Team presentation
Design projects
Final project
Final examCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Exam questions/notional example (1) All of the following are key elements of
information architecture except:
(a) Organizing information on web sites to meet user requirements
(b) Writing client-side scripts to accept user input
(c) Designing labeling systems that help users find what they need
(d) Understanding search engine features and issues
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Exam questions/notional example (2) Match the concepts on the left with descriptions
on the right:Top-down analysis Organizing information according to
concepts in a “tree” from the general to the specific
Tagging Organizing information by starting with an expectation of what’s important or needed
Taxonomy A network of terminology and/or concepts that captures associations and
relationships among words, phrases, or ideas
Thesaurus Assigning “meta-data” labels to information content to make it easier to organize, understand, or find
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Course Themes Design
Principles of information architecture
Technology Constraints on what is possible How to do it, building on what’s available
Processes Figuring out what to build Actually building it Figuring out if you’ve done it right
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Focus on Group Work Why? You rarely work alone in the real world
Three is the best number
Advice: Coordination takes more effort than you expect Plan first Take advantage of individual strengths Use collaborative technologies: don’t let distance be a
hindrance or excuseCourse overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Course Logistics Third time this course has been offered (my second) – still
making changes, incorporating feedback
Check the course homepage oftenterpconnect.umd.edu/~psjacobs/INFM700_f09.htm
Lecture slides will be on-line Monday morning (at the latest)
Typical class structure 1.5 hour session Short break Logistics/administration One hour session
Email me: I’m available by appointment
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Technology: Assumptions I assume you already know
Basic HTML/CSS and tools (e.g., Dreamweaver, Flash) How to put up a Web site (FTP, etc.) Database fundamentals Basics of client-side (e.g., HTML and Javascript) and
server-side (e.g., PHP) technologies, possibly Java
You’ll pick up new technology skills
For the projects, you will build something
Figure out what’s needed
Design itBuild it
Figure out if it works
Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration
iSchool
Extra Exercise (for next time) Goal: to develop an intuition for good vs. bad IA
Compare: Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble
Evaluate: How easy was it to find/get what you wanted? What are some major architectural features/differences
of each site? Any strengths/weaknesses?
iSchool
Wrap-up
What is information architecture?
What kinds of things will we learn in the class?
How will we work together?
What are the requirements and expectations?
What should we do for next week?
Any other questions?Course overview
The archtecture analogy
IA topics and issues
Courseadministration