Information Architecture

Professor Larry Heimann

Carnegie Mellon University
88-272 Lecture Notes Fall 1999
 Agenda & Announcements

Announcements
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Online
What Does an Information Architect Do?
Organizing Information
Navigation Systems
Labeling Systems
Developing Information Architecture Plans
 Finding the Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly Online

What do you hate about surfing the web?

What do you like about surfing the web?

 Who Are Information Architects?
According to Wurman (1996), IAs are:
1. The individual who organizes the patterns inherent
in data, making the complex clear;
2. A person who creates the structure or map of
information with allows others to find their own
personal path to knowledge;
3. An emerging 21st century professional occupation
addressing the needs of the age focused upon clarity,
human understanding, and the science of organizing
information.
 Difficulties in
Organizing Information
Problem 1: Ambiguity
language is ambiguous; define pitch (15 definitions)
ambiguous label definitions add to confusion
Problem 2: Heterogeneity
differing levels of information granularity
problem of multiple formats
Problem 3: Differences in perspectives
Problem 4: Internal politics
 Organization Schemes

Difference between schemes and structures

org. scheme defines the shared characteristics of content
items and influences the logical grouping of those items
org. structure defines the types of relationships between
content items and groups
Exact organization schemes
alphabetical schemes
chronological schemes
geographical schemes
 Organization Schemes (continued)

Ambiguous organization schemes

why use ambiguous organization schemes?
topical schemes
task-oriented schemes
audience-specific schemes
metaphor-driven schemes
hybrid schemes
Ambiguous vs. exact organizational schemes
exact works best when user knows precisely what is wanted
ambiguous best for browsing and associative learning
 Organizational Structures
Hierarchical structure
used to organize information since the beginning of time
examples of hierarchy include:
life
books
family trees
animal plant
classifying life
... flower tree
...
annual perennial

... ...
usually good to start with hierarchical approach
 Designing Hierarchical Structures

Hierarchical categories are (for the most part)

mutually exclusive
may place some ambiguous items in 2+ categories
too many cross-listings and hierarchy loses value
Important to consider the balance between
breadth and depth in an information hierarchy
breath: remember cognitive limits; use 7 2 rule
depth: usability testing show that people get frustrated
going past 4 levels and more likely to leave site.
plan for and consider changes/growth in the future
 Hypertext Structures
2 components to the hypertext model:
chunks of information to be linked
the links existing between chucks
allows for great flexibility and complexity
potential for confusion high if a user cant formulate a
(correct) mental model of the site
not unusual for users to get lost in highly hypertexted sites
In addition to context issue, hypertextual
links are often personal in nature
Best used as a complement to other structures
 Database Structure
Why use a relational database model to organize
information on a web site?
powerful field-specific searching capability
content usually (substantially) easier w/ database
facilitate distributed content management (w/ proper security!)
Limitations of the database model
rigid rules may not fit well with other heterogeneous content
technically more difficult than plain HTML
Examples of the use the database model
 Designing Navigation Systems
The importance of navigation systems
Browser navigation features
review of common features
how site designers sometimes disable these features
The need to build context for navigating
helped by including organizations name on each page
side bars or headers which present structure of the
information hierarchy and current location
Improving flexibility of the hierarchical
model via navigation systems
 Example of Gopher Site

Example of Hypertext System

 Types of Navigation Systems
Hierarchical navigation systems
Global navigation systems
may be as simple as graphical navigation bar at bottom
sensitive to the flow of movement within site
Local navigation systems
large sites often have sub sites which have unique flavor
special navigation system may be developed specifically for
the sub site (e.g., game software @ Interplay)
careful integrating local & global navigation -- dont confuse
Ad hoc navigation
 Integrated Navigation Elements

Navigation bars
graphical vs. text navigation bars
placement of navigation bars
Frames (a controversial navigation element)
screen real estate taken up by frames
confuses page model concept; may interfere w/ bookmarking
display speed is hurt; used w/ heavy graphics makes it worse
adds a layer of complexity to the design
Pull down menus
easy to (over)pack these menus with lots of options
 Remote Navigation Elements

Remote navigation elements supplement the

information hierarchy and other navigational
elements.
Table of Contents
Index
Site Map
Guided Tour
 Importance of Labeling Systems
Labeling is a form of representation; used to
communicate information efficiently.
Users have limited attention spans -- will not
try too hard to decode label meanings.
Ambiguous labels make bad impressions --
web users tend to be unforgiving.
Self-centered labels may work for internal
people, but turn away external users
 Contrasting Labeling Systems
Unplanned Us Labeling System Planned Us Labeling System
Faculty Skunkworks Humanities & Social Science
Office for Instructional Technology Business Education
K12 PDN Projects for Web Page Engineering Education
Digital Libraries Project Fine Arts & Drama
Office of Technology Management Computer Services
Office of Communication Mngt Instructional Technology
Extension Services Alumni Relations
The New Media Center Housing Office
Institute for Information Technology Student Life
Project 2000 Y2K Planning
English Composition Board University Business Office
Technology Dissemination Board Campus Police/Security Services
 Types of Labeling Systems

Labels with navigation systems

need to be consistent
some conventions are emerging
can be augmented by brief description
Labels as indexing terms
Link labels
Labels as headings
Iconic labeling systems
Creating Effective Labeling Systems

Successful labeling systems mirror the

thinking and language of a sites users, not
owners
Where do these labels come from?
from content
from users/search engine logs
from experts or established sources
from other sites
using what already exists
 Developing IA Plans

Defining goals
what is the mission of the organization?
how does the website support the org. mission?
does the web as a new medium force us to reconsider
organizations mission?
what are the short- and long-term goals?
how do we envision the website in two years from now?
how will we measure the success of the site?
 Evaluating Web Site Success

Goals and Measurement Opportunities Rank (or rate)

on 1-4 scale
Lower Costs
reduction in costs of distributing sales materials
reduction in costs of distributing press releases
reductions in number of phone calls taken at switchboards

Business Development
number of leads generated from existing target markets (and growth over time)
number of leads generated from new target markets (and growth over time)
number of sales that come from leads generated by the site (and growth over time)
dollar amount of sales from leads generated by the site (and growth over time)

Improved Customer Service

usage of content and applications (growth over time)
interactions via e-mail
customer feedback/testimonials

Improved Public Perception

user comments and testimonials
positive comparisons with competitors
mention of web site in mainstream press
mention of web site in trade press
number of links to the site from other web sites

Site Performance
number of site hits and growth of hits over time
number of new users
number of repeat users
usability testing

Other Goals & Measurement Opportunities

 Developing IA Plans (continued)

Learning about intended audience

who are the most important audiences for the site?
are there other audiences were not thinking about?
are there differences between the most important
audiences and most frequent users? Implications?
how do these audiences currently interact with us?
What is the value-added to the different audiences for the
information or services provided by the web site?
Identifying content & functional requirements
Grouping Content
 Final Thoughts...

(given in lecture)