Observations, experiences and tips

lessons on IA in the UAE11

• Who am I

• Content of this presentation

Mohammed Abdulmajid@mxmajid mmajid.com

#WIAD@WIAD_Dubai

10 years

User Experience Interaction Design Information Architecture

Intertwingled by Peter Morville

• IA plays a major role in shaping the overall experience • Talented team with different and contrasting skills is the only way to deliver great

results • Pay attention to everything from the smallest buttons to the mega-iest of menus

1

Buildings are not only bricks and mortars

• Don’t focus on design and interaction and ignore structure • Think about IA for all of your projects even small microsites and campaign

destinations • Poor IA will confuse users and force them to leave • Spending time on IA pays off. Scalable and adaptable IA will save you money

2

Visual design and structure are equally important

“It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.”

David Allan Coe

• Use IA to help tell your brand story and support your business objectives

3

Use IA to promote your brand and build understanding

• Think about how you integrate subsites with overall site structure • Don’t forget SEO and site search!

4

Watch out for microsites and subsites

• Make sure that they’re concise, descriptive and mutually-exclusive • Remember that recognition is easier than recall • Stick to a maximum of 5-7 items for your main navigation • Search doesn’t replace standard navigation

http://www.thenational.ae/

5

Establish clear expectations with your navigation

• Use LATCH (location, alphabet, time, category or hierarchy) to organize content • Think about people and processes, and always be prepared to change your plans • Taxonomies are imperfect - get feedback and iterate • You can organize things in multiple dimensions and offer faceted navigation

6

There’s no one right way to organize things

• Be careful from the hamburger menu - it’s not a magic solution for all navigation challenges

• Make sure all the necessary navigation items are visible

7

Fast-food navigation is not good for your UX

• Poorly designed intranet will frustrate your employees, waste their time and hinder their productivity – and ultimately cost you money!

• IA on Intranet is crucial for usability and findability • Consider the wider ecosystem of applications your employees are using

8

Why should we care about our intranet? After all, our customers are not using it!

9

Your users don’t have the time to play Minesweeper

• Minesweeping for navigation is a usability nightmare • Develop clear and consistent navigation schemes

10

Wireframes can’t tell the whole story

• Consider using prototypes if you can • Be agile and iterate frequently • If you’re going to produce wireframes for clients, make sure that you explain

what wireframes are, remind them of its purpose - and don’t forget to make them beautiful!

• “We think we're making websites … but we're not. We are agents of change within complex adaptive systems.” - Intertwingled, Peter Morville

• Governance and processes are critical for success • Align with the organization culture

11

“Everything is connected from code to culture”

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

Winston Churchill

How do everyday experiences make us happy and what can we learn from them?

Thank you Let’s connect: Mohammed Abdul Majid @mxmajid mohamad@mmajid.comAny questions?