ppt-making sense of mess

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Make Sense Information Architecture for Everybody by: Abby the IA

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How to make sense of any mess

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Make SenseInformation Architecture for Everybodyby:Abby the IAWhat the #$%@ is the information age?- my dadOur world is a mess.A large part of this mess is made of information.A tsunami of information is still headed our way...*HT Richard Saul WurmanNo matter what our job, our world is full of messes we must make sense ofThe majority of messes we face are made of information (and people)In 2014 the average American will spend 40+ hours a month wading through......places made of informationand make approximately 70 conscious decisions every day*HT Sheena S IyengarWe are all experiencing information overload...and with that comes information anxiety*HT Richard Saul WurmanWe have to have a websiteBut our users still like printed thingsthat website needs to talk to the inventory systemAnd be easy to update without a technologistOh! Everything actually needs to be in 5 languagesAnd the content should be controlled by our brand But dont forget to let the users make content tooOur creative director says the future is at designDont forget our partnership with _____We dont like the word cartOur CEO hates at designEvery thing is complex.We have to get comfortable with making sense of complexityRabbit Hole of ComplexityEveryone has an opinionand it can be frustrating to really talk things outFrustration occurs when people have different models in their mindsCreating objects allows us to discuss & compare differing modelsWhen we have something in common to point to we can reach consensus more easilyWith consensus comes momentumBut often it is more than two people, and more than two models to reconcile...A mess like this can easily feel impossible to make sense ofMany people get overwhelmed at this pointThey think of ways to hide the mess...Or they think of ways to pretty up the mess...New User tutorial to explain the messIncentive structure for dealing with the messFancy Front end fluffing...the mess is still a mess....but they have bought time.Until the mess grows(as all messes do when given time)Information Architecture (IA)tools and concepts help people make sense of messes made of information (and people)IA tools and concepts are NOT hard to learn. NOR are they expensive to teach.Yet IA tools and concepts are not taught (or used) as often as they ought be.As a result many adults dont understand the very basics of architecting informationYet they architect information daily, for either their job or their life or both. Results vary ;)Everyone Architects InformationInformation Architecturein 5 basic lessons What isnt information?Lesson 1Thinking about information as material is hardEvery thing has information Information can be made from the lack of physical materialThere is no true informationThere is only spinData is minedInformation is architectedAll information has place(s) within a nested set of architecturesThe level of focus changes the details you can seeThese levels of place are deeply intertwingled*HT Ted NelsonChange at one level can have implications at another level1. Know your material & level2. Start to unravel truthNext Steps:Language Matters Lesson 2Ontology Taxonomy Choreography!"# %&' ()*'Lexicography vs Ontology Lexicography is the practice of compiling dictionaries. Lexicographers collect different meanings for words Ontology represents the knowledge of terms and concepts within a domainMeaning is subjectiveMeaning is demographicMeaning is socio politicalMeaning gets lost in translationMeaning is complexhup://6Lhoor.blogs.nyumes.com/2011/03/20/words-we-donL-say/Controlled Vocabularies A controlled vocabulary is a list of approved terms and denitions for a particular context and/or setting This exercise can help teams to decide on things like: Variant Spellings (i.e. American vs. British) Scientic vs. Popular Term Use (i.e. Cockroaches vs. Periplaneta Americana) Acceptable Synonyms (i.e. Automobile vs. Car) Acceptable Acronyms (i.e. GE vs. General Electric) Business vs. User Terms (i.e. What we say in meetings vs. what we say to customers) Identication of homographs (i.e. the word pool can relate to swimming pool or shooting)30Start with language not interfacesRemember language is not just wordsI am sorry you have having issues using our mobile site. I am sure I will be able to help you...Can you see the hamburger menu?Careful: We LOVE to use words anyways even if we have to make them upWe call this an uncontrolled vocabularyUncontrolled vocabularies increase linguistic insecurityPeople suffering fromlinguistic insecurity arent as easy to talk things out with1. Know your material & level2. Start to unravel truth3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity4. List words you say/dont sayNext Steps:Structure is RhetoricLesson 3There are only 5 ways to organize anything1. Location: Rome is a city in Italy2. Alphabetical: Rome starts with R3. Time: Rome startedin 753 BC4. Category: Rome is a Romantic city5. Hierarchy: Rome is within Italy, which is within Europe, which is within the Eastern and Northern Hemisphere!"# +,-.&/0 1&2) 32/4&' 5 6'78/4&98' :';,A facet is a particular aspect, or feature about some thing The more facets something has the more ways it can be organized against other things.20 ways to organize a box of vegetables1. By cost at the grocery in the USA (Location)2. By cost at the grocery in the UK (Location)3. By countries it is eaten in (Location)4. By rst letter scientic names (Alphabetical)5. By rst letter popular names (Alphabetical)6. By rst letter cultural names (Alphabetical)7. By seasonality of harvest (Time)8. By length of season (Time)9. By cooking time (Time)10. By popularity today (Time)11. By popularity 100 years ago (Time)12. By color (Category)13. By taste (Category)14. By texture (Category)15. By size (Category)16. By growing style (Hierarchy)17. By climate (Hierarchy)18. By type (Hierarchy)19. By soil type (Hierarchy)20. By best storing technique (Hierarchy)10 facets of a vegetable1.Color2.Texture3.Taste4.Season Planted5.Season Harvested6.Soil Grown In7.Class8.Subclass9.Countries Consumed in 10. Cost by CountryThere is technically no right or wrong way to structure informationThere is academically no right or wrong way to structure informationThere is theoretically no right or wrong way to structure informationAll you can do is measure your results against your rhetorical intentInformation Architecturealways existsHow you architect your information says something about who you areIt takes knowledge to know a tomato is a fruit. It takes wisdom to not put one in a fruit salad - Miles Kington1. Know your material & level2. Start to unravel truth3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity4. List words you say/dont say5. Identify facets6. Try on structuresNext Steps:Dene Good RealisticallyLesson 4Good depends on intent!Time: I only have ___ left.!Resources: I only have ________ !Skill-set: I know how to ________but I dont know how to ______, yet.!Environment: I am working within a market, serving an audience made of various user types, within an ecosystem, via a platform, using technology.!Personality: I want my work to say _____________________ about me!Politics: Others want my work to say _________________ about ________!Ethics: I want my work to do right by the world!Integrity: I want to be proud of the results of my workReality involves many factors!Users: People you intend to interact with whatever is being made!Stakeholders: People who care about the outcome of what is being made!Makers: People making whatever is being madeWARNING: You may fall into all three categories yourself on a given project. Be extra careful when this is a case. Remember that in many cases, meeting our own needs can prevent us from meeting the needs of others.Reality involves many players1. Know your material & level2. Start to unravel truth3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity4. List words you say/dont say5. Identify facets6. Try on structures7. Deal with subjective realityNext Steps:Make Diagrams & PrototypesLesson 5Diagrams help us Diagrams help uscompare our modelsDiagram types should be collected but also continually invented for your contextPrototypes help us hup://usablllLygeek.com/wp-conLenL/uploads/2012/08/lnLroducuon-WebslLe-usablllLy-1esung-Car.[pgtest our ideasRemember to zoom in and out as you workRemember that when you are a hammer......everything looks like a wireframe1. Know your material & level2. Start to unravel truth3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity4. List words you say/dont say5. Identify facets6. Try on structures7. Deal with subjective reality8. Diagram the damn thingNext Steps:Information Architectureis not just for Information ArchitectsIf you make things, you are probably already practicing information architecturePracticing IA requires bravery, but does not require permissionBut in case you need permission to go withthose next steps and few words of advice, I can give you your membership card:Information Architecture helps me make sense of my messes.Your NameAnd suggest you think about joining the IAInstitute.org... Before you go ...If you forget everything else,please remember...We live amongst a mounting mess of informationPeople make this mess of informationInformation architecture helps us make senseLanguage mattersStructure is rhetoricWe must dene good realisticallyWe must make diagrams and prototypes to understand each other's models of the world...my hope is that the world will make a whole lot more sense.If we all think a little harder about the information we architect... (a girl can dream )How to Make Sense of Any Mess @Abby_the_IAhttp://abbytheia.com/makesense/Sign up to receive an email when pre sale opens this fall:THANKS(Ships Fall 2014)