information wayfinding: the future of search
DESCRIPTION
People's interactions with information environments are strikingly similar to how we navigate physical environments. I believe that embracing this spatial approach to information — what I call information wayfinding — can help us build environments conducive to the people who use them. This talk was presented at the Enterprise Search Summit in Washington D.C. on November 6, 2013.TRANSCRIPT
Information Wayfinding
B Y T Y L E R TAT E
The Future of Search
We are drowning in information.
“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the over-abundance of information sources that might consume it.”
— Herbert Simon, 1956
Big data is not a technology problem.
Big data is not a technology problem. It’s a people problem.
How can we make ever-growing volumes
of information accessible and useful to
people without overwhelming them?
1. We need to think about search from a new mindset.
2. We need to understand how people seek information.
3. We need to unify interaction with information.
A Brief History of Information
1
The Analog Era
The Analog Era
The tablet and the written word
The Analog Era
The tablet and the written word
The scroll and the table of contents
The Analog Era
The tablet and the written word
The scroll and the table of contents
The printing press and the index
The Digital Era
The Digital Era
The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)
The Digital Era
The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)
The CMS and the search engine (2000s)
The Digital Era
The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)
The CMS and the search engine (2000s)
Big data and ? (2010s)
The Information Environment
2
"Mankind evolved in a world of space and
time. Our memories evolved to record events
that transpire in space and time. Modern
attempts to externalise and enlarge that
memory should not, and probably need not,
neglect its spatiotemporal dimensions.”
— George A. Miller
“We must consider not just the city as a thing
itself, but the city being perceived by its
inhabitants.”
— Kevin Lynch
Paths
Edges
Districts
Nodes
Landmarks
The EnvironmentA place someone goes to seek information in order
to satisfy an information need.
Districts
Layers
Nodes
DistrictsThe primary categories into which an environment
can be logically divided.
LayersSecondary categories which describe a specific
facet of a given node.
NodesPrecise points in the environment (that we might
otherwise refer to as a Web page, document, or record).
Information Wayfinding3
Wayfinding is the collection of cognitive
processes people use to navigate physical
environments.
Information wayfinding is the collection of
cognitive processes people use to navigate
information environments.
Locate
Explore
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5 Q6
Q7
RecognizeNeed
Validate andInterpretInformation
FindInformation
UseInterpretation
Meander
Principles for a New Architecture
4
Structured Districts
Flexible Layers
Positional Cues
Survey Knowledge
Clear Paths
Coherent Interaction
1. Structured Districts
2. Flexible Layers
3. Positional Cues
4. Survey Knowledge
5. Clear Paths
6. Coherent Interaction
How can we make ever-growing volumes
of information accessible and useful to
people without overwhelming them?
1. Consider information as a spatial environment rather than a book.
2. Understand how users find their way through an information environment, and support them along that journey.
3. Unify navigation and search, districts and layers into a single, coherent experience.
DesigningTheSearchExperience.com
twigkit.com
vimeo.com/78578346
@TylerTate, @Twigkit
Information Wayfinding
B Y T Y L E R TAT E
The Future of Search