What terms and concepts do you use to deliver your product experience? What organizational structures do you use to present those terms and concepts? To what degree is the meaning you intend through those choices clear to the person for which you intended it? These are the questions to ask yourself when attempting to make a product make sense to others. Information Architecture is the practice of making sense of meaning through the consideration of ontology, taxonomy and choreography. In this three hour workshop we will discuss and work through what it means to think about affecting the information architecture of a product.

1. Information Architecture
for Products
Presented by: Abby Covert | @Abby_the_IA

3. 3

4. 4
“Perhaps the most important change from
the previous menu, though, was a grouping
system that categorized food items into
neat culinary taxonomies: pancakes on this
page, omelettes on this one, etc.”

7. Understanding
Information as a
material is
complex

8. 11
Information can come in
the form of lack of
information or materiality

9. 12
There is no true
information, only spin.

10. Defining Good is Complex
13

11. We spend much of our
lives trying to Architect
Information that
Makes sense

12. Typical Problems
• Too much information:
Overwhelming use of messages
and notifications
• Not the right information:
Confusions of meaning, intent and/
or action
• No information at all: Limited
signals for people to understand
what is happening, has happened
or is about to happen next
15

13. 16

14. Objects Allow us to have
deeper conversations

15. Tools of IA
• Ontological Clarifiers
• Taxonomic Structures
• Diagrammatic Techniques
• User Research
• Market Research
• Organizational Research
• Heuristic Evaluations
19
Today’s Focus

16. Information
Architecture is
important to
understand when
working on products
20

17. 21
Users expect Installed
Applications to connect
to the internet, and
provide easy connections
to commerce....

18. 22
While also syncing with
one or more other
devices...

19. 23
One of which has to fit
in their pocket...

20. 24
Our bosses make it
clear, we have to
also tell users
about new things...

21. 25
That compete with other things they
already use...

22. 26
Users expect products to get to know
their likes and dislikes...

23. 27
And still give the opportunity to
change what it “knows”...

24. 28
Connection to and collection of
information is not just “in” our
pockets and on our desks anymore...

25. 29From Quinn Norton’s “Everything is Broken” https://medium.com/message/81e5f33a24e1

26. making Products is complex
• People face more choices and avenues
• Product teams are under more pressure to be
not only easy and clear but also unique and
delightful
• Technology is constantly changing as are user
expectations for patterns and functionality
• We are all personally experiencing
information overload
30

27. Complexity can get in
the way of true
understanding
31
Rabbit Hole of
Complexity

28. Some Enemies that lurk in Complexity
• Familiarity: Being too close to the problem can make you forget to
remember what it is like to NOT understand
• Looking good vs. being good: Tricking yourself into thinking
something is good because it is good looking
• “Uh, Huh”: Not admitting ignorance when faced with it
• Unnecessary Exactitude: Including more detail than is helpful
• Rainbow Worship: Believing that more color or colorful flowery
language is always better
• Edifitis: Belief that a better, shinier “such and such” could and will fix
the problem
• Not asking Why: Simple as that. Always ask why.
• How before What: Thinking to specifically about solutions before the
problem is defined
32List adapted from Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety 2

29. Information
architecture is about
making Sense of
complexity
33

30. 34
“To make an apple
pie from scratch, you
must first invent the
universe”
- Carl Sagan

31. 35
Users
Stakeholders
Strategic Goals
Information
Architecture
Design
Makers
Markting
& Their Bosses
• Comfort with context
• Access/Interest/Trust
• Reading & Grade level
• Aesthetics & Taste
• Tone
• Brand
• Pixels
• Style Sheets
• Production Budget
• direction
• Flow
• Clarity
• Models
• Structure
• Tasks
• Truth
• Goals
• Research
• Competition
• REturn on Investment
• Growth towards goals
• Reputation
• The bottom Line
• Budget
• Reach
• Competition
• Distraction
• Loyalty
• Channel Limits
• Scope
• Talent
• Platforms
• Integration
• Scalability
• Quality Assurance
• maintainability
Complexity
in a simple App
design project

32. 2004 Now
IA work is getting
more complex

33. Ontology:
Do you know what you
mean when you say
what you say?
Taxonomy:
Have you provided logical
structures that bring meaning to
what you present?
Choreography:
How is meaning affected across
various channels, over time and
through usage?
Ontology
Taxonomy
Choreography
Critical
Components
Of IA*
*HT
@DanKlyn

34. Ontology
38
This is a fish.

35. Ontology = Meaning
39
Do we know what we mean when we say
what we say? - @DanKlyn

36. Meaning is subjective
Meaning is demographic
Meaning is socio political
Meaning gets lost in translation
Meaning is complex
40

37. 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 domain
41

38. Taxonomy = Structure
43

39. There are only 5 ways to
organize anything
44
1. Location: Rome is a city in Italy
2. Alphabetical: Rome starts with “R”
3. Time: Rome started in 753 BC
4. Category: Rome is a Romantic city
5. Hierarchy: Rome is within Italy, which
is within Europe, which is within the
Eastern and Northern Hemisphere
*HT
Richard
Saul
Wurman
-­‐
Informa:on
Anxiety
2

40. 45

41. Organizing
information is not
the hard part
46
building true consensus on the
meaning and intent of
information is the hard(er) part

42. Taxonomy is Rhetoric
47
The way you choose to organize
your vegetables says something
about what kind of store you are

43. 48
“It takes knowledge to know that a
tomato is a fruit, and wisdom not
to put it in a fruit salad.”
– Miles Kington

44. Mental
Models
Matter
A mental model is an explanation for
the way someone makes sense of
something.
These models of perception shape
our behavior and how we relate to
information that we encounter.
49

45. What facets do you have?
• A facet is a particular aspect or feature of something. The number of
facets something has the more ways it can be organized against
other things.
50

46. 51
20 ways to organize a box of vegetables
1.! 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 first letter scientific names (Alphabetical)
5.! By first letter popular names (Alphabetical)
6.! By first 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)

47. Ambiguous vs. Exact
Classifications
52

48. 53

49. 54

50. 55
“Watch Instantly” provides less ambiguous categories up front
Introducing more ambiguity as the user
narrows focus into a broad category

51. The more Ambiguity introduced,
the less effective the taxonomy
56
Level of Ambiguity in Classification
ClarityofTaxonomy

52. 57
homogenous information or
heterogenous information

53. 58

54. 59
Four patterns of
information form

55. Hierarchy
60

56. 61
Type of Hierarchy

57. Database
62

58. Flow
63

59. Hypertext
64

60. 65
One is no less
complex than
the other.
http://www.umsystem.edu/newscentral/mindfuleating/2010/01/29/too-many-choices/

61. Most projects
require a unique
mix of these four
building blocks
66

62. Choreography = Intent
• Context: the
circumstances that form
the setting for an
interaction
• Channel: A medium for
communication or the
passage of information
67

63. 68
How you choreograph Your
product says something
about who you are

64. 69
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Choreographing
simplicity can
be really
complex

65. Lesson 1:
When unraveling
complexity, Start with
language not
interfaces
70

66. 71
“If we’re thinking of lunchbox, we’d be really careful about
not having the word ‘box’ already give you bunch of ideas
that could be quite narrow. You think of a box being a
square, and like a cube. And so we’re quite careful with
the words we use, because those can determine the
path that you go down.” - Jony Ive, Apple
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/20/jony-ive-on-how-product-naming-influences-design-philosophy/
Words are the material of our intent

67. Remember Language
is not just words
72

68. 73
I 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 up

69. 74
Collecting the Materials
• What “information” is important to your target user?
• In what medium and context is “information” found today?
• What “information” is important to your own objectives?
• What “nouns” are you providing to users?
• What “verbs” are users anticipating as relates to those
“nouns”?
• Decide the words, images, icons and gestures will you
use to provide those things to users

70. 75

71. Controlled Vocabularies
• A controlled vocabulary is a list of approved terms and
definitions for a particular context and/or setting
• This exercise can help teams to decide on things like:
– Variant Spellings (i.e. American vs. British)
– Scientific 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)
– Identification of homographs (i.e. the word “pool” can relate to “swimming
pool” or “shooting”)
76

72. 77
h,p://6thfloor.blogs.ny;mes.com/2011/05/20/words-­‐we-­‐dont-­‐say/

73. 78
Alien Dictionary

74. 79
Slice of
Pizza
Piece of
Pizza
fetta di
Pizza
tranche de
Pizza
Piede di
Pizza
Pied de
Pizza
Pizza
Pie
Pizza
Synonym Rings

75. Lesson 2:
Diagram the
damn thing
80

76. 81
Diagrams

77. diagrams and maps
Can be “invented” for
a certain context
... but here are a bunch that I
keep going back to
82

78. 83

79. Quadrants
84
Urgent
Not Urgent
NotImportant
Important
1
2
3
NA

80. Gantt
86
Starving
Commute Home
Call For
Pizza
ORder
Pizza
Delivery
Info
Payment
Info
Wait
7:00 PM 7:05 PM 7:10 PM 7:15 PM 7:20 PM 7:25 PM 7:30 PM
Full
Hungry
Eat
Pizza
At Home

81. Flow Diagram
89
Call Pizza
place
Watch Movie
Order Pizza
Delivery &
Payment
Hungry?
Yes!
No!
Arrive
Home
After
Work
Wait Eat
Doorbell?
Pizza
Guy?
Yes!
No :(
Yes!
No!

82. Venn Diagram
90
Movie Pizza
Friday
Night at
Home

83. Tree
91
Pizza
Chicago Style
PlainToppings
NYC Style
Plain Toppings
VeggieMeat VeggieMeat

84. Swim lane
92
Customer Service Cook DriverPizza Eater
Hungry
Call
Pizza
place
Answer
Take
Order
Give
Order
Enter
into POS
Make
Pizza
Bake
Pizza
Box
Pizza
Take
Pizza
Drive to
house
Ring
door
Bell
Answer
Door
Pay for
Pizza
Eat
Pizza
Read
Order

85. Block
93
Pizza
Crust
Toppings
Service
Thin
"NYC"
Thick
"Chicago"
To Go To StayDelivery

86. schematic
94
Pie
Crust
Tomato
Sauce &
cheese
Toppings
Slice

87. EXPLODED schematic
95
Pizza
Crust
cheese
Toppings
Tomato
Sauce

88. 96

89. Journey Map
97
Get out
of Work
Drive
Walk
to Door
Order
Pizza
Get
Pizza
Eat
Pizza
Outside
Car
Home
Unlock
Door
Park
In Drive
Hear
Doorbell
Get
Home

90. Hierarchical Map
98
Cooks
CooksAst
Mngr
Abby's
Pizza
Customer
Service
Kitchen Operations
Chef
Cooks
Cooks
Cook
Sales
manager
Cooks
Cooks
Driver
Manager

91. Association Map
99
Abby's
Pizza
Store
Website
Print
Ads
Coupon
Menu
Flyer Signs
Delivery
Take
Out
Dine In
Radio
Paper
Board
Menu
About
Order

92. 100
PLAN THE BUSINESS ASSORT THE PLAN SELL-IN THE PLAN EXECUTE THE ASSORTMENT BRING ASSTMTTO LIFE
Scorecar ds
(Annual,
Seasonal,
Monthly)
Top
Account
Plan
Market
Share
Data
Point
of
Sale
Competitor
Account
Financials
Account
Trends
Wholesale
Sales
Key
City
Consumer
Trends
Analyze
the
Business
Develop
Marketplace
Insights
Develop
Accountvv
Insights
BUSINESS
PLANNING
Tailor
Seasonal
Offering
Create
Account
Assortment
Plans
VisualFinancial
Retail
Space
Buy
SIM
Strategies
GTM
KAPM
Season
Fundamentals
(Nike U)
CSI/
Showroom
Account
Assortment
PlansCraft
Sell-in
Package
Create
Seasonal
Experience
Learn to
Sell &
Service
SELL-IN
PREPARATION
Samples
Commercial
content
Catalog
Shop
Invoices
Claims
Order
Tracking
Manage
the
buy
RETAILER
BUYING
SKU
Online
Training
EKIN
In-store
Training
PP
Guidelines
& Directives
Self-serve
Digital
In-store
associate
Present
Products
Train
Retail
Associates
Educate
Consumers
(SKU)
PRODUCT
EDUCATION&
PRESENTTAION
Sales
Programs
Account
DC
Nike
DC
3rd Party
Logistics
Consolidators
CarriersStore
Account
Driven
Changes
Entry
Errors
Nike
Driven
Changes
Demand/
Supply
match
Launch
Manage
Delivery
Manage
Load-in
ORDER
MANAGEMENT
Analyze
the
Assortment
Directed
Assortments
Account
Seasonal
Recaps
Category
Hindsighting
& Foresighting
Quick-
strike
Always
Available/
Replenishment
Review
the
Business
Physical
Assets
Gross to
Net
Profitabilty
Modeling
Sales
Targeting
Seasonal
Recap
In Season
Sell-thru
Suggested
ReplacementsAllocated
Products
Edited
Offering
Call-offs
UPCs
Order
Analysis
At-once
availability
Allocated
Product
Manage
Fill-in
Campaigns
Digital
Assets
(wholesale.com)
Futures
Order
ASSORTMENT
PLANNING
Build &
Manage
the
Plan
At-Once
Order
Product
Modules
Stock &
Sales &
Open to Buy
Manage
Gaps &
Opportun-
ities
Asstmt
sell-in
Financial
Plans
Sales
Programs
Account
Credit
Product
Allocations
Business
Plans
Rep
Content

93. Diagrammatic Relationships
101
Hierarchy Flow
If
This
That
Child B
Child A
Loop
Parent
Logic
Child
Parent
Child
Grand
Child
Parent
Child 2
Child1
Parent
Resulting
Children
Database
Best
For:
Naviga:on
Best
For:
Guidance
Best
For:
Explora:on
Best
For:
Transac:on

94. Lesson 3:
Information
architecture is not
just for Information
Architects
102

95. Because
Information
architecture
Always exists
103

96. Take Aways
• Don’t start on the interface: IA is not just
about interfaces, it is about understanding
• Diagram the damn thing: Making objects
of discourse aid us in collaboration, and
with the building of consensus
• IA is not just for IAs: Think through the
appropriate ontology, taxonomy and
choreography while working on any design
project
120

97. Thanks
Abbycovert@gmail.com
@ Abby_The_IA
www.Abbytheia.com