Information architects need better tools for dealing with complex design problems like faceted browsing, template-driven displays, and content management systems. Site maps show a web site’s underlying structure, but render every page literally. Such views of the site are hopelessly obsolete before they reach the printer. They do not account for modern approaches to designing navigation systems. Database- and CMS-driven sites, for example, offer greater flexibility in storing and displaying content. Our deliverables must be able to keep up.
Concept models offer an alternative that better approximate the underlying structures of today’s web sites. By documenting a site’s foundation at a greater level of abstraction, concept models provide designers better insight into the user experience.
1. Modeling Concepts
New IA Techniques
for a Web 2.0 World
by Dan Brown, EightShapes
IA Summit 2009, Memphis, TN, USA
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Monday, March 23, 2009
2. Agenda
What and Why
✦
The Basics: Node Models
✦
Planning Decisions
✦
Content Decisions
✦
Concept Models in Process
✦
Other Kinds of Models
✦
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Monday, March 23, 2009
3. Introductions
About Me
✦
About You
✦
Who are you?
✦
Where do you work?
✦
Why are you here?
✦
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Monday, March 23, 2009
5. Social Networking in the Geography
Functional
Silos
Social
helps overcome
Workers Obstacles
Networking like...
Time
Contribut-
ors
are
Financial
Constraints
Creators
Watchers
Participants
conceal
limit
depends on Curators
Innovation
Evangelists
Subject
Customers Matter
Problem- Experts
Solving
must encourage
Productivity &
depend Work
Interactions Resources
support
Colleagues
on Efficiency Product
Corporate
depends on
Culture Responsive-
ness
Partners Knowledge
must embrace
must value
Support
exposes
Sharing Flexibility Feedback Technology
enables
Platform
sits on
Virtual
Environment
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Monday, March 23, 2009
6. How this helped...
Highlights otherwise buried
✦
concepts.
Shifts conversation.
✦
Draws connections.
✦
Conveys complex relationships.
✦
Eliminates redundancies.
✦
Contextualizes concepts.
✦
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Monday, March 23, 2009
17. Bidding Events include Training, Mock Auction, Live Auction.
Events inherit most properties from the main auction object.
RESULTS
ROUNDS
ITEMS
BIDDING
EVENT
EVENT
EVENT
RESULTS
BIDDERS
USER POOL
ITEM
MASTER
LIST
AUCTION
CONTACTS
BIDDERS
MASTER
LIST
ITEM
DEFINITION
APPLICATION
EVENT
EVENT
EVENT
AUCTION
SCHEDULE
QUALIFYING
RULES
SUPPORTING
BIDDING
BIDDERS
TECH BIDDERS
MATERIALS
PROCESSING
BIDDERS
GUIDE
PUBLIC
TRAINING
NOTICES
MATERIALS
17
Monday, March 23, 2009 Auction Manager Redesign Version: 0.1 La
18. 18
http://www.freepress.net/ownership/atthistory
Monday, March 23, 2009
21. is
program coach
associated
with
is
which
associated
coaches
supports
with
is
family athlete sport
supported plays
by
of Special Olympics
has friend featured
nected through
participates competed
who became in
in in
sporting
who leads who helped
volunteer initiative sponsor
event
local fund
who encouraged who helps who then which which
friend to become with helped with initiated contacted
fundraising
volunteer
event
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Monday, March 23, 2009
34. Exercise
Create a
simple node model
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Monday, March 23, 2009
35. Film Distribution
The primary agenda of the distributor is to apply to all films subsequently booked,
convince the exhibitor to rent, or quot;bookquot;, each although on occasion some of the terms, such
film. To this end the distributor usually as the percentage of the gross to be paid by
arranges industry screenings for exhibitors, the exhibitor, may be varied with regard to a
and uses other marketing techniques that will particular film.
make the exhibitor believe they will profit
financially by showing the film. The distributor must also ensure that enough
film prints are struck to service all contracted
Once this is accomplished, the distributor then exhibitors on the contract-based opening day,
secures a written contract stipulating the ensure their physical delivery to the theater by
amount of the gross ticket sales to be paid to the opening day, monitor exhibitors to make
the distributor (usually a percentage of the sure the film is in fact shown in the particular
gross after first deducting a quot;floorquot;, which is theatre with the minimum number of seats and
called a quot;house allowancequot; (also known as the show times, and ensure the prints' return to
quot;nutquot;), collect the amount due, audit the the distributor's office or other storage
exhibitor's ticket sales as necessary to ensure resource also on the contract-based return
the gross reported by the exhibitor is accurate, date. In practical terms, this includes the
secure the distributor's share of these physical production of film prints and their
proceeds, and transmit the remainder to the shipping around the world (a process that is
production company (or to any other beginning to be replaced by digital distribution)
intermediary, such as a film release agent). as well as the creation of posters, newspaper
Ordinarily there are standard blanket contracts and magazine advertisements, television
between a distributor and an exhibitor that commercials, trailers, and other types of ads.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
54. PRODUCT
Component
Offerings Resources PRODUCT
PRODUCT
Category
Trends
Industries
PRODUCT
Edition
Solutions Customer
Profiles SOLUTION
Articles, etc.
Products Press
Release
Software
Hardware SERVICE
Services Case Studies SERVICE
Multimedia Category
Education &
Training Initiatives
THEME
Promotions
Events
Partners GROUP
Downloads
Forums Policies
Suppliers
Governance
PREVIEW
Documentation
Jobs
ARTICLE
Investor
Relations
User Groups
Overview
EVENT
Support Company
HOME
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Monday, March 23, 2009
55. Preference A
Segment 1 Segment 2
Priorities: blah. Priorities: blah.
Concerns: blah. Concerns: blah.
Aptitude: blah. Aptitude: blah.
Design Strategy: Design Strategy:
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
45-74 45-74
25-44 25-44
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
13-24 13-24
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
Interests by Age Group Interests by Age Group
• Interest • Interest
• Interest • Interest
• Interest • Interest
Behavior A Behavior B
Segment 3 Segment 4
Priorities: blah. Priorities: blah.
Concerns: blah. Concerns: blah.
Aptitude: blah. Aptitude: blah.
Design Strategy: Design Strategy:
45-74 45-74
25-44 25-44
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
13-24 13-24
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
• Design Principle. • Design Principle.
Interests by Age Group Interests by Age Group
• Interest • Interest
• Interest • Interest
Preference B
• Interest • Interest
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Monday, March 23, 2009
56. Users may add a portlet more than once to any of their portals, though portlets Two portlets of the same type share a BUT two portlets of the same type
1 2 3
added in one place are not automatically added elsewhere. data source. may appear di erently.
!quot;#$%&$'() !quot;#$%&$'(*
!quot;#$%&$'() !quot;#$%&$'(*
!quot;#$%&'()*+
!quot;#$%&'()*0
Changing the look of one portlet BUT changes to the data source from
4 5
does not a ect the appearance of one portlet do a ect other portlets
other portlets of the same type. of the same type.
"#12)1
!quot;#$%&$'() !quot;#$%&$'(* !quot;#$%&$'() !quot;#$%&$'(*
,-*
./%(quot;
49
Monday, March 23, 2009
61. Thanks!
dan@eightshapes.com
social networks:
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Hinweis der Redaktion
•Site maps are about belonging
•Site maps tend to represent basic navigation experience
•Flows are rigid about cause & effect
•Flows focus on activities
•Flows have a distinct beginning and end
•Flows must show a transformation
•trends over time
•comparisons
•State requirements
•Establish design direction
▼Clarify domain or context
•Sensemaking
•Design synthesis
•Explicit relationships
•Relationships by linking
•Concepts = nouns
•up to 3 dozen concepts
•Central core concept
•Core diad, triad, or quad
•Value proposition backbone
•Focus on relationships (eg: user experience model)
•Early in project
•Anticipate iteration
•Ideal for domain mapping: lightbulb
•Operational model: gears
•Early in project
•Anticipate iteration
•Ideal for domain mapping: lightbulb
•Operational model: gears
•Early in project
•Anticipate iteration
•Ideal for domain mapping: lightbulb
•Operational model: gears
▼
Audience
•Trash business/technical distinctionguys with gears/$/paintbrush pointed at them, crossed out
▼Think in terms of characteristics
•detail-orientedguy with magnifying glass
•eager to contributeguy carrying stuff
•able to abstractthought bubble
▼
PurposePurpose: structure, domain
•Describe structure of site
•Illustrate underlying domain
▼
Message
•The domain is more/less complex than we imagined
•There are important relationships here not readily apparent
•
Maintenance
•
Collaboration
▼
Type: What kind of model should I make?
•
▼
Scope: What concepts should I include?
•Start with too many or start with what you know
•Add as many as you can
•Refer to planning decisions to quantify scope
•When in doubt, take it out: focus on legibility, show simpler versions initially, add elaboration later
•
Detail: How much information should I include?
▼
Abstraction: At what level should the concepts be?
•To what extent are you going to analyze or synthesize concepts?
•Force yourself to identify narrower and/or broader concepts
▼
Relationships: Which aspects of the network should I highlight?
•Find compelling relationships: passive voice and belonging are mundane
▼
Visual Language for Concepts
•Identify opportunities to imply relationships through placement
•Dont' be afraid to repeat concepts as they get further away from the central ideas, but be sure to use consistent visual language to draw
the connection
▼
Visual Language for Relationships
•Belonging relationships are easily communicated through placement
▼Impacts
•No specialized visual language
•No surrounding context/explanation
•Not normalized: redundant concepts, redundant/non-existant relationships
•Strong emphasis on clarifying unfamiliar items through relationships
▼Uses
•Context-setting: Here's where the product fits
•Scope-setting: Here's what we're focusing on
•Vision-setting: Here's what the product will look like
▼Impacts
•Strong emphasis on the product itself -- maybe mentioned explicitly
•Lack of detail
•Strong emphasis on relating familiar items with unfamiliar items
▼Uses
•Describe site structure or content strategy
•Describe operational structure
▼Impacts
•Content/template-focused
•Roles incorporated: icons showing different jobs pointing at person
•Focused on familiar items only, though expressed differently (press release -> article template)
•Relationships describe navigation between templates
•Relationships describe ways concepts impact/influence each other (for interactive systems): soccer ball
▼
Two-by-two: Concept models in context
▼Characteristics
•Relationships implied by comparisons
•Relationships driven by criteria
▼Quantities are relative, not absolute
•If you start plotting points, you're into quantitative
▼Variations
•Adding a third dimension: scale (size of circle)
•Four kinds of X in the world
▼When to use 2x2
•Comparing concepts
•Key dimensions/criteria are salient
•Drive decisions based on criteria
▼
Comics
▼Characteristics
•Panel-based
•Multiple aspects of a single set of concepts
•Usually linear
▼Variations
•Non-human comics
▼When to Use Comics
•Relationships are narrative
•Relationships are relative perspectives on a central idea
•Break an idea into component parts
▼
Illustration models
▼Characteristics
•Less explicit relationships
•Relationships by relative placement (vs. linking)
•Less rigid noun-verb distinction
•1 dozen concepts
▼When to use illustration models
•elaborating on a node model
•Relationships are more abstract
•Relationships are self-evident or not as crucial