s512: information systems design spring 10 ia as theory and practice i. can ia be based on theory?...
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S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
IA as theory and practice
I. Can IA be based on theory?
• Inductive thinking
• Information interaction
II. Practice: doing the job
• Incorporating theory into practice
• Doing the research
• Preparing to create an IA
III. Designing and building
• Working in the IA world
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
http://library.thinkquest.org/ 25126/science1.html
I. Can IA be based on theory?
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
An example of deductive research:
Select theory
Derive a hypothesis
Gather data
Analyze data
Determine extent to which data analysis supportshypothesis
Reject or fail to reject hypothesis
How well does this describe the work of IAs?
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
An example of inductive research:
Gather data
Analyze and reanalyze the data
Organize the data within broad topics
Create categories within the topics
Identify relationships among the categories
Synthesize the patterns into conclusions
How well does this describe the work of IAs?
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Haverty argues that IA must be inductive
It does not have an existing body of theory which typically guides the work of a field
Theory constrains acceptable solutions through formal validation
Without it, IAs tend to treat each problem as novel
Also, it supports emergent phenomena
The IA domain has a small set of initial components and a relatively simple set of rules
These lead to a large number of complex patternsHaverty, M. (2002). Information architecture without internal theory: An inductive design process. Journal of the ASIST, 53(10), 839-845.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
IA components include content, structure, navigation, interaction
On any given site, there are many interactions that can emerge when people use it, influenced by the IA of the site
IAs use combinations of these components to define the framework that constrains user interactions
Problem: we don’t understand well how to study and design for emerging user experiences
We don’t know how each contributes to the user experience
This is why we need inductive analysis
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
IA as constructive induction
This is a process for generating a design solution using two intertwined searches
First: identify the most adequate representational framework for the problem
Second: locate the best design solution within the framework and translating it to the problem
at hand
CI is useful when existing theory cannot adequately explain the object of study
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Steps of CI
1. What are the basic design problems for the system?
Determine goals, vision, business and other requirements
Decompose the problem
Each requires a design solution
Haverty 2002, 841.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Steps of CI
2. Find a framework for each design problem
Identify a solution within the framework
May involve looking at work in other fields
Each requires a design solution
Haverty 2002, 841.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Steps of CI
3. Translate solution into a context of the current design problem
This is a creative step
Involves understanding the original concept and knowing how to repurpose it
Haverty 2002, 841.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Steps of CI
4. Integrate solutions into an overall IA
Validate the solutions against the original high level goals and objectives of the site
May involve member checking and usability work
Haverty 2002, 841.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
If IA develops theory
Determine design problems
Use theory to create design solutions
Integrate and design solutions
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Information interaction as a basis for IA
Toms argues that the initial focus should be how people interact in information-rich environments
Interaction: situated action with an IS involving querying, browsing
Primarily use of GUI with some command line work
We “immerse ourselves” in info
This is affected by IA: enabling access to content by providing a systematic and primarily a visual approach to the organization of content Toms, E.G. (2002). Information interaction: Providing a framework for information architecture. Journal of the ASIST, 53(10), 855-862.
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
How information interaction occurs
We can come to a system with an “information task”
Problem-solving: we go through a patterned process and end with a relevance judgment
We can also have chance encounters, encounters with information, scanning activities
These are less patterned but still end with some type of judgment
Then we browse, navigate, search, evaluate…
Information interaction is the basis of the person’s use experience
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
I. Can IA be based on theory?
Try to determine the client’s understanding of the audience
Who do they think their users are?
What type of experience do they want people to have when using the site? What do they want them to do?
Where do they want them to spend the most time?
Do the research
Learn about the client’s business
What is their value proposition?
What are the main ways they generate revenue?
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
IA as theory and practice
I. Can IA be based on theory?
• Inductive thinking
• Information interaction
II. Practice: doing the job
• Incorporating theory into practice
• Doing the research
• Preparing to create an IA
III. Designing and building
• Working in the IA world
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Incorporating theory into practice
Withrow: cognitive psychology has much to offer IA
The difficulty is figuring what to use from research and how to use it
Example: mental categories
A grouping mechanism, a way to bring together items or concepts through some unifying characteristics or attributes
How can these be used?Withrow, J. (2003). Cognitive psychology & IA: From theory to practice. BoxesandArrows. http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/cognitive_psychology_ia_from_theory_to_practice.php
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
These categories can be formed in many ways
Visual similarity, shared purposes or uses, rules of inclusion and exclusion, organizational
culture
There are also differences affected by cultural differences, socialization, and cohort effects
A web site should reflect inclusive mental categorization schemes
These can be uncovered with open ended card sorting
An IA can then be developed based on the users’ arrangement of content categories
Metadata as well
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Visual perception is also important
Visual cues are often the basis for mental associations users make among items on the interface
Withrow, J. (2003).
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Proximity and similarity matter
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Implication:
Navigation bar design
Navigation items that are across the page and appear dissimilar are unlikely to be perceptually associated
Display of local navigation bars
Items should be proximal and similar so they are perceived as being together
They should also be associated with the appropriate section in the global navigation bar and not be perceived as global navigation
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
An IA challenge is to design a structure that works for more than one target user group
Research shows that often there is no single user group
Try to identify distinct segments within the target user population, each with characteristic goals and values
Then design a project that can support all segments with a single structure
An alternative is to build a different site for each segment but this not an efficient way to work
It avoids design challenges that can lead to creative solutions
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Schleicher and Kush, J. (2001). Retail ecologies, e-commerce, and information architecture http://argus-acia.com/white_papers/ethnography.html
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Maintenance: buying less meaningful objects not necessarily tied to social relationships (stamps)
Provisional: selecting objects relatively low in meaning with social relationships more involved in the purchase (school supplies)
Consumption: buying objects with high meaning which will provide value far beyond their basic utility with social relationships less involved (music)
Pilgrimage: focus is on the objects and on the social relationships involved in the shopping experience (wedding rings)
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Generic IA features
Flexible search terms
Clear labeling
Descriptive content
Contextual links to related products
IA for maintenance
Shallow browsing
Navigation shortcuts
Saving product selections
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
IA for provisional
Saving product selections
Enriched search results
IA for consumption
Evocative labels
Personalization
IA for pilgrimage
Interaction with others
Evocative labels
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Doing the research
Theoretical reasons
Research on organizations can help developers avoid problems that can undermine projects
Practical reasons
A necessary step in the project life cycle
Saves time, money, and effort
Allows you to figure out what you have to do
To get a sense of the existing situation
Understand the constraints and who can impose them
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
How to do the research
There are different ways to set up the problem
Ask an open-ended question
Set up a relationship and test it
There are a variety of ways to study an organization
You can talk to people interviews
You can ask people to fill out forms surveys
You can watch people observation
You can test people experimentation
There are variations within these approaches as well
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
There is a difference between academic and IA research
There is less need for rigor
You don’t have to worry about generalizability
Peer review is not an issue
There are good reasons to use good research practices
If your methods are reliable, you can reuse them
High quality data leads to strong conclusions
Consistency within and across projects
Over time this can lead to best practices
You can then train new employees more easily
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Settle on strategy or strategies
Individual email or telephone interviews? Individual face-to-face interviews?
Group meetings? Group email or conference calls?
Each has its advantages and drawbacks
Face-to-face interviews and group meetings are good ways to gather information
In addition to the research value, these strategies also serve a social function
You learn about stakeholder biases and political and power relationships
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
IAs want to understand what people want when they use the web
User centered research is a good way to get at this
People’s activities tend to be goal directed - they
Use information for problem solving
Want useful information that matters to them
Want it to help them resolve problems/needs
Want it to help them with their work or life
Want cues throughout the site
Want reasonable and intuitive navigation
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Consider this question:
“What should our team create to give people experiences that are useful, usable, and
desirable, that create value for our business and our clients?”
How can we answer it?
Rettig emphasizes the importance of an ethnographic approach
“Go where people work, learn, live and play. Discover unexpressed or masked needs. Let your design be driven by genuine understanding of the people you are trying to serve.”Rettig, M. (2000). Ethnography and information architecture. http://www.enteract.com/~marc/asis/slide0009.htm
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Gather the data and begin analysis
This involves sorting and categorizing
Goals, activities/tasks, main content areas
Prepare a preliminary listing and use “member checking”
Be prepared for conflict, disagreement, and compromise
There should be a deliverable (a design document)
It summarizes the key points of the site and acts as an initial blueprint
The major stakeholders should all sign off
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Learn about the audience by defining the user experience
This establishes a clear definition of the audience
It helps in understanding how users will react to the site
This involves another round of conversations and/or meetings
Get them to rank the range of potential audiences
Ask them to describe the needs and goals of the most important audience members
Use these results to create user scenarios
These are stories about how people will use the site
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
In practical terms, this means:
Observation: go into the setting and watch people
Shadowing: follow them around
Examining artifacts and their uses
Interviews: interview people in their workplace
This can be structured or unstructured
Sampling: can involve time or task sampling
They fill out activity diaries on your schedule
Self-reporting: they have the greatest amount of control
Ask them to take pictures or keep journals
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Navigation models depend on people’s goals and needs
Perfect knowledge
Optimal rationality: follow the highest probability path
Based on “information scent” or imputed meaning of content/labels
Satisficing: following what looks like the best path and stop when the content is a close enough match
Mental map: model of site structure
Rote memorization
Information foraging: consuming local resources and moving on
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
II. Practice: doing the job
Learn about the competition
Find out who the main competitors are and analyze their sites
Criteria #1 #2 #3 #4DesignNavigationLook and FeelSearchPersonalizationScriptingCurrency
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
IA as theory and practice
I. Theory: What is IA based on?
• Inductive thinking
• Information interaction
II. Practice: doing the job
• The information ecology of IA
• Doing the research
• Preparing to create an IA
III. Designing and building
• Working in the IA world
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Working in the IA world
The IAs must be matched to its organizational context
It provides an image of the client’s mission, vision, strategy, values, and culture
The site is a “major component of the evolving conversation between” the business (or
organization) and its customers (or clients)
It influences the ways in which the audience thinks of the organization’s products and services
This is why alignment is so important for IAsRosenfeld and Morville, Ch2
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Working with content: documents, applications, services, schema, metadata on the site
Ownership: what are its origins? Who creates and controls content?
Format: what are the different types of formats used?
Structure: the document? database entry? structural markup?
Metadata: what is being used? What should be used? How is it managed (controlled or user-generated)?
Volume: how much?
Dynamism: what is the rate of change?
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Rapid IA prototyping
A structured method moving from exploration to design to testing
Based on user and business requirements
Users: how they tacitly group, sort and label tasks and content
Business: understanding and incorporating goals and concerns
Importance of stakeholder analysisSinha, R. and Boutelle, J. (2004). Rapid information architecture prototyping. Proceedings of the 5th conference on Designing Interactive systems: Processes, Practices, Methods, and Techniques. 349 – 352. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1013115.1013177
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Rapid prototyping is useful for the design of top-down IA
Exploring the content domain
Understanding user conceptual structures and stakeholder perspectives
Generating several candidate designs
Doing quick comparative testing to choose among them
Methods
Free listing: all the words associated with a category
Shows shared concepts and boundaries of domains
Generates a list of tasks that can be done on the site
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Methods
Types of tasks
Core tasks: the core functionality of the site
Boundary tasks: the most demanding, unusual, or sophisticated functionality on the site
Horizon tasks: could be done on future versions of the site
Distribution: 50-80% core tasks, 10-25% horizon tasks and 10-25% boundary tasks
These describe the boundaries of the information domain
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Methods
Card sorting: users arrange content into categories and hierarchies
Cluster analysis groups the open sorts into hierarchies
Closed sorts allow quick testing of the hierarchies to see if tasks belong in specific categories
Stakeholder analysis
Techniques for understanding the range of perspectives and goals within a business environment
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Card sort
This is a low-tech approach to develop a taxonomy
It demonstrates how people group items
Allows you to develop structures that maximize the chances of users being able to find what they want and:
Is easy and cheap to conduct
Identifies items that can be difficult to categorize and find
Identifies terminology that is likely to be misunderstood
Infodesign. (2002). What is Card Sorting? http://www.infodesign.com.au/usability/cardsorting.html
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
You have to have predefined the major categories
Label each card with a description of potential content
Have respondents create and name piles of cards that share similar relationships
Then cluster the groupings
Pay attention to items that do not have a consensus
Would re-naming the item improve the situation, or does it need to be included in more than one category?
The results indicate how users organize the content
Use the findings to the develop the site architecture
S512: Information Systems Design Spring ‘10
III. Designing and building
Preparing the card sort
Ensure that each term is clear and unambiguous
Include all the items you need to categorize
Shuffle or randomize cards prior to each session
Use the same instructions so all participants have the same understanding of the process
Leave participants alone while they are sorting the cards, but make sure they can easily ask you
questions
Provide additional blank cards for people to write group names and rubber bands to gather groups of cards together