Information Architecture

-The Basics-Presented by Kero Yu

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About Kero

• Digital Art Design, Donghua University, China

• New Media Design and Web Development Senior Management Certificate, BCIT, Canada

• Worked at: Sharp Point Press, Gamebase. eBay Taiwan, Electronic Arts

• Now owns a column at TechOrange.com

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What is I.A.?• The structural design of shared information

environments.

• The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within Websites, intranets and interactive media.

• 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.

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StructuringOrganizingLabeling

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Finding and Managing

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Art and Science

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Why I.A. matters?• The cost of finding information

• The cost of not finding information

• The value of education

• The cost of construction

• The cost of maintenance

• The cost of training

• The value of brand

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In short, I.A. will save your time & money, and make

people love your site.

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Basic ModelFriday, 2 August, 13

Context

• Business goals, funding, politics, culture, technology, resources, and constraints

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Users

• Audience, tasks, needs, information seeking behaviour, experience

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Content

• Document/data types, content objects, volume, existing structure

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Practice:Explain IA to Others

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User Needs and Behaviours

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All websites servesinformation.

All users come to a site for information needs.

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The Too-SimpleInformation Model

• User asks a question.

• Black Magic! (Something happens.)

• User receives the answer.

• Finish!

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Things are notalways that simple.And, prior to all...

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When studying IA,we need to know

the motivations behindevery behaviour.

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If we don’t think about it, we’re just wasting time to make

something that no one cares.

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Users’ Questions

• Where am I? (What is this site about?)

• Is there anything I need?

• Why I should be here?

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What do users want?Let’s use the metaphor of

fishing to get at the answer.

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Known-item seekingThe too-simple model would solve it.

The Perfect Catch

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Exploratory seekingYou hope that whatever ambles in will be useful.

Lobster Trapping

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Exhaustive researchYou try to drag up everything you can.

IndiscriminateDrift Netting

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Need-it-again re-finding I’ve seen you before.

White Shark

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Information-Seeking Behaviours

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Major Seeking Behaviours

•Searching

•Browsing

•Asking

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And we know how to approach.

(Search engine, list, email or forum)

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More Complex Models

•Berry-picking

•Pearl-growing

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Berry-pickingKeep picking bits of information

along the way and modify the requests.

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Pearl-growingYou want “more like this one”.

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Figure out what’s the best way for your users to find information, and apply it.

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Be sure theyreally need it.

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So, which modelshould we choose?

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There’s no correct answer.Just stick to

“two-step”model.

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... and keep“User Needs”

in mind.

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Tons of IA options

• Organization Systems

• Navigation Systems

• Search Systems

• Labeling Systems

• Browsing/Searching Aids

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80/20 PrincipleOnly 20% of IA options fit user needs.

Your job is to figure it out.

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Practice

• Imagine the browsing experience on a travel agent website.

• Give examples of all 4 seeking motivations and describe about when and how integrations/iterations happen.

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THANK YOU!

• Tell me you how you think about the first lecture, what your favourite part is, and how I can improve it.

• E-Mail: kero.yu@spring-trees.com

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