Think about the utility of your favourite apps and websites, and all the ways they enable you to FIND, CREATE and MANAGE stuff. Whether it’s a seemingly trivial activity like taking notes or managing a TO-DO list, or something more obviously complex like doing your weekly grocery shop online, the digital services we use regularly are rich with features and functionality, and evolve to include new features regularly. But as a designer, how do you know which features and functionality you should add to your product? This talk will look at how we as humans FIND information. Using Donna Spencer’s “4 modes of Information Seeking” as a springboard it will demonstrate how features and functionality can be designed to support specific information seeking modes, and look at how users move between modes during a longer journey, how they might transition between different behaviours during a single activity, and what we as designers can do to support this.

1. UX Architecture | UX&D @qui!oy @uxscotland #uxscot 8 Jun 2017
Desperately Seeking…Something!
UX Architecture | UX&D

2. UX Architecture | UX&D
Most digital
products have lots
of functionality and
lots of features.

3. UX Architecture | UX&D
Finding stuff
is important.

4. UX Architecture | UX&D
Featuritis

5. UX Architecture | UX&D
Featuritis
kills

6. UX Architecture | UX&D
Should we have a
site search feature?

7. UX Architecture | UX&D
Oooh, what about
search filters?

8. UX Architecture | UX&D
Maybe a “People
who looked at X
bought Y” thing?!

9. UX Architecture | UX&D
Favourites lists!
That you can share!!

10. UX Architecture | UX&D
An A-Z index??!

11. UX Architecture | UX&D
A link to a sitemap
in the footer?!??

12. UX Architecture | UX&D
Tags?!?!!1!!?

13. UX Architecture | UX&D !

14. UX Architecture | UX&D
– Lt. Col. Carlos A. Keasler (U.S. Army, Retired)
“Just because you can,
doesn’t mean you should.”

15. UX Architecture | UX&D
Which features
should your
product have?

16. UX Architecture | UX&D
Ask yourself:
“How do people
use our product?”

17. UX Architecture | UX&D
What &
how?

18. UX Architecture | UX&D
@qui!oy

19. UX Architecture
UX&D

20. UX Architecture | UX&D
We’re hiring!!

21. UX Architecture | UX&D

22. Northern User Experience
Manchester ~ Leeds ~ Newcastle ~ Liverpool
nuxuk.org ~ @nuxuk

25. UX Architecture | UX&D
Irrelevant

26. UX Architecture | UX&D
Today’s agenda

27. UX Architecture | UX&D
Today’s agenda
1. Introduction (this bit)

28. UX Architecture | UX&D
Today’s agenda
1. Introduction (this bit)
2. Information seeking (might include a bit of history)

29. UX Architecture | UX&D
Today’s agenda
1. Introduction (this bit)
2. Information seeking (might include a bit of history)
3. Donna’s 4 modes

30. UX Architecture | UX&D
Today’s agenda
1. Introduction (this bit)
2. Information seeking (might include a bit of history)
3. Donna’s 4 modes
4. Turning them into a decision-making framework

31. UX Architecture | UX&D
What do we mean by
“information seeking”?

32. UX Architecture | UX&D
– Wikipedia
“Information seeking is the process or activity
of attempting to obtain information in both
human and technological contexts.”

33. UX Architecture | UX&D
– Wikipedia
“Information seeking is the process or activity
of attempting to obtain information in both
human and technological contexts.”

34. UX Architecture | UX&D
Marcia Bates’
berry picking
(1989)
The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface
UX Architecture | UX&D

35. UX Architecture | UX&D
Donna Spencer’s
four modes
(2006)
The 4 Modes of Information Seeking and how to design for them
UX Architecture | UX&D

36. Known-item

37. Known-item
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders

38. Known-item
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book

39. UX Architecture | UX&D

40. UX Architecture | UX&D

41. UX Architecture | UX&D

42. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory

43. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Learn to use
Sketch

44. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?

45. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this

46. UX Architecture | UX&D

47. UX Architecture | UX&D

48. UX Architecture | UX&D

49. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown
Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this

50. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown
Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?

51. Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown
Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?
Learn more
about IA

52. UX Architecture | UX&D

53. UX Architecture | UX&D

54. UX Architecture | UX&D

55. UX Architecture | UX&D

56. Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?
Learn more
about IA
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown Re-finding

57. Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?
Learn more
about IA
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown Re-finding
where was
that jacket
I wanted to
buy?

58. Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?
Learn more
about IA
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown Re-finding
where was
that jacket
I wanted to
buy?
What’s the
latest
football
scores?

59. Learn to use
Sketch
What’s the
best e-com
checkout
design?
Find more
music that
sounds like
this
How can I
let my spare
room on
Airbnb?
Learn more
about IA
Catch up on
last night’s
Eastenders
Buy Donna
Spencer’s
awesome IA
book
Known-item Exploratory
Unknown unknown Re-finding
where was
that jacket
I wanted to
buy?
What’s the
latest
football
scores?
Where did I
see that
article on
learning IA?

60. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability

61. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability
1. Support bookmarking:

62. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability
1. Support bookmarking:
• Permalinks

63. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability
1. Support bookmarking:
• Permalinks
• Meaningful page titles (include hierarchies)

64. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability
1. Support bookmarking:
• Permalinks
• Meaningful page titles (include hierarchies)
2. Ensure re-visitable page states

65. UX Architecture | UX&D
Active refindability
1. Support bookmarking:
• Permalinks
• Meaningful page titles (include hierarchies)
2. Ensure re-visitable page states
3. Favourites & wish lists

66. UX Architecture | UX&D

67. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability

68. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability
1. Recently viewed (include meaningful metadata)

69. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability
1. Recently viewed (include meaningful metadata)
2. Browser history (those meaningful page titles again)

70. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability
1. Recently viewed (include meaningful metadata)
2. Browser history (those meaningful page titles again)
3. Visited link colours

71. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability
1. Recently viewed (include meaningful metadata)
2. Browser history (those meaningful page titles again)
3. Visited link colours
4. Ensure re-visitable page states

72. UX Architecture | UX&D
Passive refindability
1. Recently viewed (include meaningful metadata)
2. Browser history (those meaningful page titles again)
3. Visited link colours
4. Ensure re-visitable page states
5. Don’t break the ‘back’ button

73. UX Architecture | UX&D

75. UX Architecture | UX&D
How Might We

76. UX Architecture | UX&D
How Might We
use the 4 modes
to design better
solutions?

77. UX Architecture | UX&D

78. UX Architecture | UX&D
Mode

79. UX Architecture | UX&D
Mode
Behaviour set
Behaviourset
Behaviourset

80. UX Architecture | UX&D
Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour
Mode
Behaviour set
Behaviourset
Behaviourset

81. UX Architecture | UX&D
Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour
UI pattern
or feature
UI pattern
or feature
UI pattern
or feature
UI pattern
or feature
Mode
Behaviour set
Behaviourset
Behaviourset

82. UX Architecture | UX&D
Barry’s final
thoughts:

83. UX Architecture | UX&D
– Donna Spencer (@maadonna)
“The most important issue is not whether
you notice a mode of seeking information
that fits into one of these categories, but
that a range of modes exist.”

84. UX Architecture | UX&D
– Me (@qui!oy)
“We switch modes and behaviours
many times during a single session.”

85. UX Architecture | UX&D
Further reading
• Donna Spencer: The 4 Modes of Information Seeking and how to design for them (Boxes & Arrows, 2006)
• Donna Spencer: A Practical Guide to Information Architecture (UX Mastery eBook)
• Rosenfeld, Morville & Arango: Information Architecture for the Web and Beyond (O'Reilly book)
• Models of Information Seeking (Search User Interfaces, 2009)
• The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface (Marcia J. Bates, 1989)
• Information Seeking Behavior (Wikipedia)
• Cognitive models of information retrieval (Wikipedia)

86. @qui!oy @uxscotland #uxscot 8 Jun 2017UX Architecture | UX&D
Fin.