What is the cost of finding information? What is the cost of decisions  without proper information? And what about missing customers who cannot find you or your products?  A  successful information architecture enables people to step logically through a system confident that they are getting closer to what is needed. Somewhere between data and knowledge there is information that needs to be structured, organized, managed and properly tagged in order to be found and used.  However, putting together content in a form that can be understood and receive business value does not happen by chance. If you know the answers then you know the value of better navigation, improved usability and improved access to information.

1. Successful Information Architecture
The Art and Science
behind Successful Information Architecture

2. About me
Ivelin Andreev The art and science behind a successful IA
• Project Manager @
o 11 years professional experience
o .NET Web Development MCPD
o SQL Server 2012 (MCSA)
• Business Interests
o Web Development, SOA, Integration
o Security & Performance Optimization
o Horizon2020, Open BIM, GIS, Mapping
• Contact me
o ivelin.andreev@icb.bg
o www.linkedin.com/in/ivelin
o www.slideshare.net/ivoandreev

3. Agenda
• Information Architecture (IA)
• Information seeking behaviours
• Understand users
• Successful IA
• Top 10 IA mistakes
• Emotion and IA
• Tools & patterns
Ivelin Andreev The art and science behind a successful IA

4. ¨I can’t find anything!¨
The symptom of a faulty information architecture
http://contemplativepathways.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/cornwalls­glendurgan_1280x.jpg

5. Still Wondering what IA is?
• In•for•ma•tion ar•chi•tec•ture n. (www.iainstitute.org)
1. Structural design for intuitive access to content
2. Organization, labeling and navigation to support
usability and findability
3. Bring principles of architecture and design to IS

6. One of the most effective ways to define something is by
identifying its boundaries

7. What isn’t IA
• Graphic Design: How it looks (Art)
• Interface Design: How it looks before I touch it (Science)
• Interaction Design: How it works after I touch it
• Web Design: How it works in a browser
• UX Design: How I feel about it
• Information Architecture: How it's organized

8. Why care about IA?
What is the cost:
• Finding information slowly
• Not finding information
o Bad decisions
o Duplicate effort
o Lost customers
• Maintenance
• Training
• Brand value

9. ¨Knowledge is power¨
Information is [what] ?
http://www.michaelyamashita.com/gallery/large/Mekong_33.jpg

10. D-I-K-W
http://www.thinkinc.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/09/Data­Information­Knowledge­Wisdom.png

11. In Seek of Information
• Consumers (Findability)
o Critical success factor
o Browse, search, ask…
• Providers (Managibility)
o Efficient content management
o Clear policies and procedures
• Researchers (Science & Art)
o Ethnography, Usability Engineering
o Ambiguity and complexity of human mind

12. Creativity
Proficiency
Usability
Reliability
Functionality
The Maslow Model Translated
Art
Science

13. Eyes don’t lie

14. Eye Tracking
• Measure eye activity
o Cost: 5’000$ - 40’000$
• Process & visualize data
• Interpret data
o What is seen
o Areas drawing attention
o How quickly the eye moves
o Path of gaze
o Measure the Index of Cognitive Activity
• Apply results

15. The F-Pattern
“Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read Web
pages in an F-shaped pattern”
J.Nielsen

16. F-Pattern Implications
• Write for the Web, not for print-out
• Users do not read content thoroughly
• The first two paragraphs must state the important
• Start paragraphs and bullets with informative words

17. You Look Where They Look

18. How to (Methods & Deliverables)
• Design for somebody, not everybody
• Research rather than opinion
Step How
1. Stakeholder & user goals Interview
2. Define content Headings, Sections
3. Organize content Card sorting
4. Label content Thesauri, dictionaries
5. Functional aids Search, Wizards,
Progress indicators, Retrieval algorithms
6. Navigation Site maps, Site flow diagrams
7. Mockup templates Wireframes

19. Users spend most of their time on other websites
Jakob's Law of the Internet User Experience
http://moocnewsandreviews.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/06/MOOC­research­on­effective­habits­of­power­users.jpg

20. Characteristics of a Successful IA
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standardization
5. Error prevention

21. Characteristics of a Successful IA (2)
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize and recover from errors

22. Top 10 Information Architecture mistakes
http://arnequinze.com/root/footage_ChaosinMotion/ChaosinMotion02.jpg

23. Five Users are Enough!
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/card­sorting­how­many­users­to­test/
• N (1-(1- L ) n )
o N – total number of usability problems
o L – proportion of usability problems found by 1 user (typically 31%)
o n – actual users

24. Top IA Mistakes
1. No structure
2. Search and structure not integrated
3. Missing category landing pages
4. Extreme polyhierarchy
5. Microsites poorly integrated with main site

25. Top IA Mistakes (2)
6. Invisible options
7. Uncontrollable navigation elements
8. Inconsistent navigation
9. Too many techniques for navigation
10. Fancy termed menu items

26. ¨Attractive things work better¨
Emotional Design, Don Norman (2004)
http://www.design42day.com/news/transportation/30751/sada­bike

27. Levels of Visual Design
Don Norman identified 3 levels:

28. It is not for the software product
Focus on the impact it leaves on customers
http://www.distractify.netdna­cdn.com/wp­content/uploads//2014/04/vyacheslavmishchenko­7­934x.jpg

29. Build UX for Emotion
“Emotional design is your insurance to maintain users’ trust
when things go wrong”
Aaron Walter
• Appealing
Grab the user’s attention and influence perception.
• Effective
Guide the user’s attention, ensure he finds what he is
looking for.
• Pleasurable
Allow the user to appreciate your website and have fun.
• Memorable
Build a relationship and ensure positive memory of you.

30. Tools & Patterns
• Heatmap (Demo)
o http://crazyegg.com
• Design Patterns
o http://ui-patterns.com/patterns
• Sample Design Solutions
o http://patterntap.com
o http://www.smileycat.com/design_elements/
• How To Guides
o http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools
o http://guidelines.usability.gov/

31. Takeaways
• Books
o “IA for the World Wide Web”, L.Rosenfeld & P.Morville
o “Emotional Design”, Donald Norman /2004/
o “Design for Emotion”, Aarron Walter /2011/
• Articles
o Nielsen Norman Group
o www.nngroup.com/articles/
o IA Institute
o www.iainstitute.org/library/
o UI Engineering
o www.uie.com/articles/

32. SQLSaturday #311 in October!
http://www.sqlsaturday.com/311/
jQuery Bulgaria, November
http://www.jquerybulgaria.com/
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