Abstract:

Providing a meaningful content structure is key to a website’s usability. This tutorial instructs Web designers on capturing user research so that it can directly inform a website’s information architecture. The extremely practical approach provides actionable results in relatively short time frames.

Learning objectives:

Participants will take part in practicing a number of methods for developing a successful information architecture, including user interview techniques, user research analysis, mental modeling, deep content analysis, top-down information architecture, and facet analysis for building out deep structures. Attendees will receive a wealth of sample documents and document templates in digital form to support their practicing of these methods. Additionally, they’ll learn a variety of approaches for each method, such that they can practice them in a way that suits their particular working environments.

How tutorial will be conducted:

This tutorial is conducted in a straightforward manner – a lecture supported by a host of activities. Activities involve role-playing, individuals, and, most importantly, groups practicing the methods being discussed. Working with others ensures a different perspectives on the methods taught, and assists in providing a deeper understanding of the material.

Detailed Description of Material Covered by Tutorial and a Schedule of Events

This tutorial has been offered at User Interface Engineering’s User Interface 6 and 7 conferences, where it has consistently received high marks.

9a-10:30a

Introduction to Tutorial and Instructors

Following a quick introduction of the presenters and their work experience, we will discuss the framework for the day’s tutorial. All of the class activities will be involved in developing the information architecture for a fictional home improvement website, iRemodel.com, focusing specifically on the development of a kitchen remodeling center.

Defining Information Architecture and Mental Models

Considering the newness of the field, it’s important at the outset to define the terms to be used throughout the day. We will discuss the depth and complexity of information architecture, the basics of mental models, and how all of this fits within a user experience methodology. There will be some Q&A to understand the specific needs of the attendees, so we can gear our discussions towards those.

Conducting User Interviews

Our user research methodology is grounded in user interviews. We will discuss our techniques for segmenting your audiences, finding users, and conducting user interviews to ensure that their responses will be helpful in your analysis. We will deconstruct a recruiting screener. Various methods for finding user subjects will be presented. Then we will conduct a role-playing exercise, demonstrating these interview skills on an attendee who is involved in remodeling his or her home.

10:30-11a BREAK

11a – 12:00p

Transcript Analysis

Once you have the user data, you’ve got to make sense of it. Participants will be stepped through two processes of making sense of your research. The first is a formal and rigorous approach through cutting and pasting from one document to another. The second is a quicker, more guerrilla method involving walls of post-it notes.

Mental Model Diagram

The heart of our methodology and our workshop is the building of a mental model. We have developed a mental model visualization style that directly displays how an audience approaches the accomplishment of their tasks and goals. Groups of 4-6 will take part in building the mental model, and then the entire class will discuss their experiences.

12:00p – 1:30p LUNCH

1:30 – 3:15p

Content Assessment A crucial part of any successful information architecture project is a thorough understanding of the material currently available. We will step users through the processes of architecture review, content audit, and content inventory. For each, we will demonstrate how to perform them with documentation templates made available to the attendees.

Content Slotting and Gap Analysis

Now that you know your audiences’ needs and the content you have, it’s time to match them up. Using the mental model diagram, attendees will return to their groups to slot content where it serves particular tasks and goals. The whole class will conduct gap analysis, wherein you highlight either where user needs are unmet by content, or you have content that meets no known user need. We will discuss the implications of these gaps, how they can lead to innovation (develop material for tasks not being supported) and reduce unnecessary effort (stop developing material for tasks that do not exist).

Design the Information Architecture, Step 1: Top-Down

The first step in designing a websites information architecture is to layout the site’s primary areas, and what types of material goes within them. Using the mental model and the content slotting as a guide, we will discuss how to structure the main areas of your site so that they respond to users’ tasks and goals.

3:15p – 3:30p BREAK

3:30p – 5:00p

Design the Information Architecture: Step 2: Bottom-Up

Recognizing that the top-down approach has limits to its depth, we will develop the deep structures of our information architecture through simplified facet analysis. We will begin with basic metadata concepts, having the class develop classification schemes for home appliances. Attendees will then build those schemes into taxonomies, paying special attention to the development of faceted classifications that can allow users to access material in innumerable ways. We’ll discuss interface design for such classification schemes, showcasing a range of approaches. We’ll end up with methods for verifying the usability of your content classification, namely card-sorting and nomenclature testing.

Q&A and Exhibition of Actual Deliverables

With any remaining time (the prior steps typically take up a whole day of instruction), we’ll engage in a question-and-answer session with attendees about implementing the skills they’ve learned in their working environments. We’ll ground this in the exhibition of actual client deliverables we’ve developed with this methodology, so that students understand how this works in “the real world.”

Instructor's Biography

As a partner at Adaptive Path, Peter Merholz has worked for a number of clients, most notably PeopleSoft, for whom he has: developed an information architecture solution for unifying three sites into one; created a navigation scheme for their intranet; and designed and user tested Web pages for an international audience. Before Adaptive Path, Peter served as Creative Director of Epinions.com, a leading community-based product information site. Synthesizing input ranging from branding to user research to data analysis, Peter led the development of visual design, interaction design, and content strategy in a site-wide redesign. Peter is a regular speaker at Web design and information architecture conferences, with topics ranging across the spectrum of user experience. Peter is an active member of the American Society of Information Science and Technology and ACM’s SIG-CHI. He also serves on the steering and conference committees of the AIGA’s Experience Design practice group.