2024-10-28 Module 1 Introduction
- Kidd, Denise
Introduction to IA
Information architecture - IA - connects people with content.
Content: Information and knowledge
Done by hierarchies/taxonomy, labeling/metatdata, navigation schemes/UI, search
Definitions
Information Architecture
The Art and science of labeling information, this includes websites, intranets, Content Repositories and Knowledge Bases to support usability and findability - The Architecture Institute
Information Architecture Includes
The high level rules that govern the manner in which information concepts are defined, related, realized and managed by the enterprise.
3 major parts of IA
Context: Business models & goals, corporate culture, resources
[Where information is used]
Content: Document types Objects, structure, attributes, Metainformation
[How to describe the information]
Users: Information needs, audience types, expertise, tasks
[How to Use the Information]
IA = Users + Context + Content
Users:
Who they are
What their information seeking behaviors and needs are
Users navigate and they search, so your delivery mechanism must be precisely searchable and allow navigation to content
Do usability testing
Content:
Volume, Formats
Metadata
Structure
Organization
Context: content’s relationship to -
Business Model
Business Value
Resources & Resource Constraints
Definition of IA success
Employees and Customers can easily find answers among the collective knowledge of the organization
A search capability that is highly effective in finding desired content across manuals, guidelines...
A governance model that assists process stakeholders collectively create, manage, and store relevant content (information and knowledge)
We have achieved consistent and proper use of content sources repositories available in the organization
View of a filtered subset of content that facilitates a quick access to content that matters
Consistent and effective content retention
Content management related cost is reduced
Content that is related to roles, product lines, geography, etc.
A consistent use of an Information Architecture process and common language usage that facilitates maintenance of the model going forward
Information architecture roles
Information Architect
Investigates the req of customers for the content and structure of info deliverables
Understands the underlying content structure of the info types that authors must produce and develops standards based on these structures
Instantiating business rules into the structure to support authors and encourage compliance.
Creates structures that promote finding and reusing content in multiple contexts, including metadata schemes to label content appropriately for delivery to customers
Creates an authoring environment that accommodates both the preferences of authors and the needs of the business for compliance with standards
Develops standards for content assembly in multiple media that meet customer and business requirements
Builds style sheets that apply appropriate formatting to content for each type of deliverable
Information Architect’s focus
Users of the Info
The Info itself
The business/organization
Understanding users
Who are the users?
What roles do the users play in their organization?
Are the users experts or laymen, decision makers or worker bees?
Where do they work?
What kinds of information are the users seeking?
How do they use that information?
What formats are easiest for the users to handle?
Do the users search or browse, or a combination of the two?
What criteria are the users searching on?
What languages do the users work in?
How the IA maintains a user focus
Organize, label, and chunk information
Construct navigation systems that make the info easy to find
Add metadata to the info so other systems can process/understand it
How the IA accomplishes these goals
Top-down discovery - get a picture of the entire info space and working down to the details
Bottom-up discovery - figure out metadata for each piece of content and working up toward the general (re-engineering)
Usually, findability isn’t related to the effectiveness of the search engine itself, but rather the content and its structure.
Understanding the business/organization
Understand how businesses categorizes (Name) their content
Understand how the content is being used
Support the user's need to take an action-oriented approach
Support the user's real-world goals, not goals that are derived from the product (keep them product agnostic)
Focus primarily on information needed to solve problems (i.e., troubleshooting and problem-resolution information)
Identify levels of support (first, second, third-tier)
Self-service; submission of question; chat sessions
Support users who want to find just the information they need, users who are primarily interested in performing tasks, as well as users who wish to study information to gain knowledge and understanding
SEO Analyst
Overview
Content quality
Contribute to the dev of the metadata schema
Usability and conversion optimization
Rankability of content (search ranking factors)
Develop standards for content search
Crawlability of content
Responsibilities
Assist in development and execution of communication/content strategies via social communities in coordination with SEO goals
Keep pace with SEO, search engine, social media and internet/intranet industry trends and developments
Monitor and administer web analytics dashboards, reports and key reporting tools, and point out key areas of importance in accordance corporate goals
Monitor and evaluate search results and search performance across the major search channels
Communication to team and management on SEO project development, timelines, and results
The Taxonomist
The accidental taxonomist (book)
This is a more concise and comprehensive rendering of the above content
Creating the thesauri and data structures that drive the browse and navigation portions of internet/intranet, CMS, or KMS Documentation that allows for easy categorization
Identify the best ways to gather, categorize and classify content
Troubleshoot categorization issues, tool and system issues
Solving many types of metadata issues across multiple CMS, KMS, and internet/intranet environments
Serves as an advocate for data quality standards
Content authors
In collab with the Info Architect, creates and authoring environment that complies with standards
Designs/builds style guides/sheets for content deliver in collab with Info Architect and Communications (look and feel)
Applies plain language and information design (PLAID) to content creation
Standardized format of language to make things more coherent; more consumable; reduce/eliminate jargon
Requirements gathering for content and structure
Develop standards for content assembly
Understand and use in-house content creation tools and quality standards
Perform ad hoc research to dev and produce new web based and print content
Add to creative and strategic ideas for online content creation
Create and publish timeline content in various environments
Lead social networker and manage social media presence
Use industry and org knowledge to dev ideas/content
Maintain process and determine effic/effect methods for dev content
Dev compelling content for various learners/audiences
Use in-house content creation tools and apply quality standards
Use graphics/media creation programs to dev prototypes and storyboard
Apply current content requirements and identify digital tools and collaborators
The UI/UX Designer
Conducting usability testing
Exploring many different approaches to solving a specific user interface problem
Adhering to IA component designs
Leverages the taxonomy and metadata
Use UI standards
Maintaining consistency in visual elements and defining behavior
Create a style guide and ensure a consistent design language is applied throughout
Design each screen/page to ensure that the UI visually communicates the intended design
Developing wireframes, mock-ups, and specs
How it’s rendered on the screen; ensures intentions are captured, which includes users
Define and communicate models, user task flows, and UI specs
Define interaction models
Ensures that product logically flows from one step to the next
Information architecture components
Information (Content) model
Depicts all the different types of content for a specific area
Contains detailed info of the content type’s elements (metadata) and their relationships to each other
The level of detail in the model is determined by its purpose
Metadata schema
Data describing the context/content/structure of records and mgmt over time
Logical plan showing the relationships between metadata elements, normally through establishing rules for the use and management of metadata, which is depicted and descriptors of the content
Supporting compliance of metadata
Require tags upon upload (won’t save unless added)
Use default values
Drop-down menus
Folders
Change of culture to engage supervisors
WIIFM?
Business rules of the structure
Statement that defines or constrains some aspect of the business
Intent is to structure/control/influence business’ behavior
Determine the relationships between content depicted on the content model
For example, a product belongs to a product family
Taxonomy
Classification and naming things in an ordered system intended to indicate relationships usually into hierarchical groups
Classifying and organizing things
Utensils > silverware > forks/spoons/knives
IA governance
Process, policies, and procedures to manage and maintain the IA structure
Consists of the content model, taxonomy, and metadata
Managing/maintaining the structure may include developing new content types, expanding/collapsing the taxonomy, and modifying the metadata, as well as relationships between content types and its associated business rules.
When content is changed, one or more of these might need to change, too.
On this page