using abstraction to increase clarity

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#AbstractionforClarity #AbstractionforClarity Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity Kaarin Hoff Information Architect, The Understanding Group (TUG) #AbstractionforClarity

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Abstraction can be used at the beginning of a project to facilitate communication and reflection in order to establish a shared framework. This clarifies goals for decision makers and gives direction to the production team – preventing the project from getting stuck in the weeds. In our everyday work, as people who create digital products, we are under a lot of pressure from clients/employers to produce concrete outputs – often with little clarity concerning goals. This leads to stress and ineffectual outcomes. Looking at the course of human history, people have always used methods of abstraction to make sense of a complicated world (like mapmakers). As IAs we can take advantage of this natural human tactic to abstract the complex, in order to bring clarity to our work by using tools such as maps, blueprints, and personas.

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Page 1: Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity

#AbstractionforClarity#AbstractionforClarity

Using Abstraction to

Increase ClarityKaarin HoffInformation Architect, The Understanding Group (TUG)#AbstractionforClarity

Page 2: Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity

#AbstractionforClarity

Abstraction:the intentional filtering of

information to focus a conversation on the core

goal(s)

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#AbstractionforClarity

http://iqcontent.com/blog/2009/11/dublins-new-subway-system-well-subway-map/

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#AbstractionforClarity

http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/subwaymap/pdf/routemap_en.pdf

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#AbstractionforClarity

Abstraction Best Practices

• If its going to distract from the conversation, don’t include it

• Use a model that fits the information, not vice versa

• Clearer: not necessarily less, could even be more• Allow your models to combine information

from multiple sources

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#AbstractionforClarity

Too often we are asked to jump to the detailed

Page 7: Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity

#AbstractionforClarity

Thoughtfully using abstractions can avoid a lot of this pain and keep

projects from getting stuck in prior assumptions

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model we

use to facilitate conversations

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

Marriot

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

http://ffffound.com/home/vvva/found/

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

www.google.com

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

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#AbstractionforClarity

We must choose carefully the model through which we hold conversations

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#AbstractionforClarity

Customer Journey Example

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#AbstractionforClarity

Concrete

User

User

User

User

Stakeholder ?See the things they expected to see.

Do the thing they already wanted to do.

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#AbstractionforClarity

Abstractions help stakeholders DISCOVER

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#AbstractionforClarity

Concrete AbstractedPlausibleImprobableNarrativeVisualUser

User

User

User

IA Brain

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#AbstractionforClarity

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#AbstractionforClarity

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#AbstractionforClarity

IA Brain

Stakeholder

Dev-eloper

IA Brai

n

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#AbstractionforClarity

Goal Alignment Example

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#AbstractionforClarity

Concrete

“information”

“need, need!”

“want”

“information”

“need, need!”

“want”“information”

“information”

“information”

“want”

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#AbstractionforClarity

Concrete

“information”

“want”

“information”“information”

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#AbstractionforClarity

Concrete Abstracted

“information”

“need, need!”

“want”

“information”

“need, need!”

“want”

“information”

“information”

“want”“information”

-Goal #1 Reasons:

-Goal #2 Reasons

-Goal #3 Reasons

IA Brain

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#AbstractionforClarity

-Goal #1 Reasons:

-Goal #2 Reasons

-Goal #3 Reasons

IA Brain

Page 27: Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity

#AbstractionforClarity

Abstraction Best Practices

• If its going to distract from the conversation, don’t include it

• Use a model that fits the information, not vice versa

• Clearer: not necessarily less, could even be more• Allow your models to combine information

from multiple sources

Page 28: Using Abstraction to Increase Clarity

#AbstractionforClarity

Try it out, keep the conversation going

Kaarin [email protected]@kaarinh

Group#AbstractionforClaritySlideshare