Information Architecture
Professor Larry Heimann
Carnegie Mellon University
88-272 Lecture Notes — Fall 1999
Agenda & Announcements
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Announcements
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Online
What Does an Information Architect Do?
Organizing Information
Navigation Systems
Labeling Systems
Developing Information Architecture Plans
Finding the Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly Online
What do you hate about surfing the web?
What do you like about surfing the web?
Who Are Information Architects?
According to Wurman (1996), IAs are:
1. “The individual who organizes the patterns inherent
in data, making the complex clear;”
2. “A person who creates the structure or map of
information with allows others to find their own
personal path to knowledge;”
3. “An emerging 21st century professional occupation
addressing the needs of the age focused upon clarity,
human understanding, and the science of organizing
information.”
Difficulties in
Organizing Information
• Problem 1: Ambiguity
– language is ambiguous; define “pitch” (15 definitions)
– ambiguous label definitions add to confusion
• Problem 2: Heterogeneity
– differing levels of information granularity
– problem of multiple formats
• Problem 3: Differences in perspectives
• Problem 4: Internal politics
Organization Schemes
• Difference between schemes and structures
– org. scheme defines the shared characteristics of content
items and influences the logical grouping of those items
– org. structure defines the types of relationships between
content items and groups
• Exact organization schemes
– alphabetical schemes
– chronological schemes
– geographical schemes
Organization Schemes…
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• Ambiguous organization schemes
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why use ambiguous organization schemes?
topical schemes
task-oriented schemes
audience-specific schemes
metaphor-driven schemes
hybrid schemes
• Ambiguous vs. exact organizational schemes
– exact works best when user knows precisely what is wanted
– ambiguous best for browsing and associative learning
Organizational Structures
• Hierarchical structure
– used to organize information since the beginning of time
– examples of hierarchy include:
• books
• family trees
• classifying life
life
plant
animal
...
flower
tree
...
annual
perennial
...
...
– usually good to start with hierarchical approach
Designing Hierarchical Structures
• Hierarchical categories are (for the most part)
mutually exclusive
– may place some ambiguous items in 2+ categories
– too many cross-listings and hierarchy loses value
• Important to consider the balance between
breadth and depth in an information hierarchy
– breath: remember cognitive limits; use 7 ± 2 rule
– depth: usability testing show that people get frustrated
going past 4 levels and more likely to leave site.
– plan for and consider changes/growth in the future
Hypertext Structures
• 2 components to the hypertext model:
– chunks of information to be linked
– the links existing between chucks
• allows for great flexibility and complexity
– potential for confusion high if a user can’t formulate a
(correct) mental model of the site
– not unusual for users to get lost in highly hypertexted sites
• In addition to context issue, hypertextual
links are often personal in nature
• Best used as a complement to other structures
Database Structure
• Why use a relational database model to organize
information on a web site?
– powerful field-specific searching capability
– content usually (substantially) easier w/ database
– facilitate distributed content management (w/ proper security!)
• Limitations of the database model
– rigid rules may not fit well with other heterogeneous content
– technically more difficult than plain HTML
• Examples of the use the database model
Designing Navigation Systems
• The importance of navigation systems
• Browser navigation features
– review of common features
– how site designers sometimes disable these features
• The need to build context for navigating
– helped by including organization’s name on each page
– side bars or headers which present structure of the
information hierarchy and current location
• Improving flexibility of the hierarchical
model via navigation systems
Example of Gopher Site
Example of Hypertext System
Types of Navigation Systems
• Hierarchical navigation systems
• Global navigation systems
– may be as simple as graphical navigation bar at bottom
– sensitive to the flow of movement within site
• Local navigation systems
– large sites often have “sub sites” which have unique flavor
– special navigation system may be developed specifically for
the sub site (e.g., game software @ Interplay)
– careful integrating local & global navigation -- don’t confuse
• Ad hoc navigation
Integrated Navigation Elements
• Navigation bars
– graphical vs. text navigation bars
– placement of navigation bars
• Frames (a controversial navigation element)
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screen real estate taken up by frames
confuses page model concept; may interfere w/ bookmarking
display speed is hurt; used w/ heavy graphics makes it worse
adds a layer of complexity to the design
• Pull down menus
– easy to (over)pack these menus with lots of options
Remote Navigation Elements
• Remote navigation elements supplement the
information hierarchy and other navigational
elements.
• Table of Contents
• Index
• Site Map
• Guided Tour
Importance of Labeling Systems
• Labeling is a form of representation; used to
communicate information efficiently.
• Users have limited attention spans -- will not
try too hard to decode label meanings.
• Ambiguous labels make bad impressions -web users tend to be unforgiving.
• Self-centered labels may work for internal
people, but turn away external users
Contrasting Labeling Systems
Unplanned U’s Labeling System
• Faculty Skunkworks
• Office for Instructional Technology
• K12 PDN Projects for Web Page
• Digital Libraries Project
• Office of Technology Management
• Office of Communication Mngt
• Extension Services
• The New Media Center
• Institute for Information Technology
• Project 2000
• English Composition Board
• Technology Dissemination Board
Planned U’s Labeling System
• Humanities & Social Science
• Business Education
• Engineering Education
• Fine Arts & Drama
• Computer Services
• Instructional Technology
• Alumni Relations
• Housing Office
• Student Life
• Y2K Planning
• University Business Office
• Campus Police/Security Services
Types of Labeling Systems
• Labels with navigation systems
– need to be consistent
– some conventions are emerging
– can be augmented by brief description
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Labels as indexing terms
Link labels
Labels as headings
Iconic labeling systems
Creating Effective Labeling Systems
• Successful labeling systems mirror the
thinking and language of a site’s users, not
owners
• Where do these labels come from?
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from content
from users/search engine logs
from experts or established sources
from other sites
using what already exists
Developing IA Plans
• Defining goals
– what is the mission of the organization?
– how does the website support the org. mission?
– does the web as a new medium force us to reconsider
organization’s mission?
– what are the short- and long-term goals?
– how do we envision the website in two years from now?
– how will we measure the success of the site?
Evaluating Web Site Success
Goals and Measurement Opportunities
Lower Costs
reduction in costs of distributing sales materials
reduction in costs of distributing press releases
reductions in number of phone calls taken at switchboards
Business Development
number of leads generated from existing target markets (and growth over time)
number of leads generated from new target markets (and growth over time)
number of sales that come from leads generated by the site (and growth over time)
dollar amount of sales from leads generated by the site (and growth over time)
Improved Customer Service
usage of content and applications (growth over time)
interactions via e-mail
customer feedback/testimonials
Improved Public Perception
user comments and testimonials
positive comparisons with competitors
mention of web site in mainstream press
mention of web site in trade press
number of links to the site from other web sites
Site Performance
number of site hits and growth of hits over time
number of new users
number of repeat users
usability testing
Other Goals & Measurement Opportunities
Rank (or rate)
on 1-4 scale
Developing IA Plans
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• Learning about intended audience
– who are the most important audiences for the site?
– are there other audiences we’re not thinking about?
– are there differences between the most important
audiences and most frequent users? Implications?
– how do these audiences currently interact with us?
– What is the value-added to the different audiences for the
information or services provided by the web site?
• Identifying content & functional requirements
• Grouping Content
Final Thoughts...
• (given in lecture)