SharePoint Information Architecture & Usability - SharePoint Saturday The Conference

SharePointInformation Architecture That Really Works Facilitated By: Richard Harbridge and Virgil Carroll Tweet Us: #SPSTCDC @RHarbridge @VCMonkey

Please turn off all electronic devices or set them to vibrate. If you must take a phone call, please do so in the hall so as not to disturb others. Open wireless access is available at SSID: SPSTCDC2011 Feel free to “tweet and blog” during the session Thanks to our Diamond and Platinum Sponsors:

From the great State of Alaska Masters in Instructional Design Working with SharePoint since v.1 User Experience Advocate Certified Athletic Trainer Blog: http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com Twitter: @vcmonkey

Information Architecture is a Practice not a Strategy

In IA, there is no single “right answer”.

Take Away: Improved Communication

Take Away: Knowledge YouCan Use

Our Goal Today… From Here To Here

What We Will Cover Today: Why SharePoint InformationSystems Fail What Makes an IA Strategy Really Work Visualizingand Communicating IA Concepts Making Information Architecture Decisions Case Study Approach (Implementing SharePoint IA) Information Architecture Tips and Tricks

What We Won’t Cover (In Depth) Today: Records Management (and Information Policies) Search Architecture and Considerations Planning For Multiple Languages Column Decisions (Choice Column vs Managed Metadata Column vs Lookup Column etc…) Technical Considerations for Permissions Management Audience Targeting

Why SharePoint Information Systems Fail What Makes an IA Strategy Really Work Visualizing and Communicating IA Concepts Making Information Architecture Decisions Case Study Approach (Implementing SharePoint IA) Information Architecture Tips and Tricks

Then it got TOTALLY out of control!!

SharePoint is not a Silver Bullet… SharePoint is not a Silver Bullet at NothingButSharePoint.com

SharePoint will be… ,[object Object]

Our primary unified application delivery platform.

Our primary workflow/business process automation platform.

Our intranet and communication center for internal corporate communications.

…SharePoint will not be… ,[object Object]

Our primary document management platform.

Our contact management platform.

Opportunistic Driven Learning Image from Paul Culmsee

#3 WE THOUGHT ORG CHART = SITE MAP

#4 WE BELIEVED MICROSOFT KNEW DESIGN (instead learning from users)

#5 WE THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT STORING INFORMATION, NOT USING IT

#6 NO REVIEWS (or analysis of usage)

The Outcome There are many reasons SharePoint IA can fail and many of us have experienced variations of them firsthand.

What to watch out for… Sometimes failing is necessary to highlight how important effective IA planning and commitment can be.

What We Will Cover Today: Why SharePoint Information Systems Fail What Makes an IA Strategy Really Work Visualizing and Communicating IA Concepts Making Information Architecture Decisions Case Study Approach (Implementing SharePoint IA) Information Architecture Tips and Tricks

What MakesAn IA StrategyREALLYwork

What is information architecture? The structural design of shared information environments. The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability.

What is information architecture? 4 basic IA concepts… Information… Undergoes… Structuring, organizing, and labeling To improve… Finding and managing Through…Art and science

Why IA matters The cost of finding information The cost of not finding information The cost of construction The cost of maintenance The cost of training You can’t understand it something if you don’t organize it!

How is IA broken down? Business goals, funding, politics, culture, technology, resources and constraints Audience, tasks, needs, information seeking behavior, experience Document / data types, content objects, volume, existing structure

Context Context All web sites and intranets exist within a particular business or organizational context. Each organization has a mission, goals, strategy, staff, processes and procedures, physical and technology infrastructure, budget, and culture. The key to success is understanding and alignment. Content Users

Content Context Includes documents, applications, services, schema, and metadata that people need to use or find onyour site. ,[object Object]

What are the formats your content is in?

Who owns your content?Content Users

Users Context Every user has different experiences and abilities to draw from. Every user has different needs and wants. Do you know how your users use your site now? Users Content

What does IA support? Information architecture starts with the user and why one come to a site in the first place: they have an information need Information needs can vary and each need can cause users to exhibit specific information-seeking behaviors

A good IA… increases our chances of finding the right stuff

How users look for information The too-easy information seeking model

Why doesn’t this model work? ,[object Object]

Most users don’t know how to search

Most users don’t have the patience for complicated systems,[object Object]

Sometimes you’re just looking for one answer (known-item)

Sometimes you want to investigate(exploratory)

Sometimes you want to find everything(Don’t know what you need)

Sometimes you need to find it again (Re-finding)

Berry Picking Model Search View results Use results to enhance search Repeat until end result is found

Don’t Forget Put-ability Search isn’t a silver bullet.

A good IA… helps us work effectively

A good IA… supports user experience

Supporting user experience If people say your SharePoint ‘sucks’ Do you know why and how to fix it? If not, review and test it!

Incorporate Feedback Planning Couldn’t Find What You Were Looking For? Let Us Know (On Search Pages) Intranet Design or Improvement Contests Do You Like The New Homepage Design? Click I Like It or Leave A Note! (Simple front end code/webparts means users don’t even have to go to the ribbon.) Provide Feedback Button & Custom List Want More? Give Users a Bookmark Feature and Analyze User Bookmarks Blog New Features/Changes and Encourage Comments

The Outcome A good IA continually improves content find-ability and put-ability while retaining context and usability.

What to watch out for… When defining IA there are always trade-offs. These trade-offs become areas of negotiation and sometimes of conflict.

What We Will Cover Today: Why SharePoint Information Systems Fail What Makes an IA Strategy Really Work Visualizing and CommunicatingIA Concepts Making Information Architecture Decisions Case Study Approach (Implementing SharePoint IA) Information Architecture Tips and Tricks

Visualizing and CommunicatingIA Concepts

What is Taxonomy? or this… Not this!

Taxonomyis…. The science of categorization, or classification, of things based on a predetermined system. In reference to web sites and portals, a site’s taxonomy is the way it organizes its data into categories and subcategories.

How do you figure it out Seek and ye shall find Research Ask an expert

Linnaeus vs Buffon Everything can be organized based on a standard! Nay! Each person can organize things based on their own context! Arrangement is key! Arrangement and categorization provides universal context! Context is key! Everything can be organized by multiple facets!

Arrangement and Context Taskonomy? Department Store Wholesale Warehouse

Arrangement Challenges Perfect! Superclass Class What if I want to find an animal by if it lives in water? Or by whether it flies? Order

X Drive Challenges Perfect! Could this be solved by using metadata so that the document could be found by both region and industry? What if I want to find a marketing document by region and not industry?

What is Metadata? The BIG Question

What is Metadata? The BIG Question What is Metadata? I think I get it I think I get it Oh! Now I see(Mostly)

Adapted from the “pea soup” story by Serge Tremblay

What is our Base Metaphorfor files?

As we’ve already seen: This always works out great This is a common result…

Moving this mess to SharePoint makes it worse

The #1 rule of SharePoint? Except when it makes sense Never use folders ever

A SharePoint Taxonomy If only there was a way content could be organized so content could be found/viewed in multiple ways… I like it!

Adding Metadata (when uploading)

Vacation Request Drug Reimbursement Name _________ Emp. # _________ Date _________ Dates Requested: From __________ To: __________ Manager ________ Approved Y/N Name _________ Emp. # _________ Date _________ Drug Used: Name __________ Cost: $ _________ Manager ________ Approved Y/N

Both Content Types in One Library

Content Types for: Security Workflow, Policy,

CREATE LABELING SUPPORT (metadata)

What is labeling? Labeling is a form of representation. Just as we use spoken words to represent concepts and thoughts, we use labels to represent larger chunks of information in our SharePoint structure.

Creating your labels Start small, grow organically Don’t be afraid of natural language Always label Train your users…right now! Its not a relational database Use Content Type Syndication

Types of labels Contextual links Headings Navigation system choices Index terms Iconic labels

Making your own labels General guidelines Narrow scope whenever possible Develop consistent labeling systems, not labels Ways to find labels Content analysis Card sorting Search log analysis

The Outcome Shared Understanding Of How Metadata And Taxonomy Can Be Leveraged To Improve ‘Findability’.

What to watch out for… People Must Understand The Value Of Metadata Or They Will Reject The Idea.

Tools For The Information Architect

Navigation Systems Global navigation Local navigation Breadcrumbs/Up One Level Control Contextual navigation Supplemental navigation Sitemap A-Z Index Guides

What is Card Sorting? Card sorting is a technique that many information architects (and related professionals) use as an input to the structure of a site or product.

“Card sorting is a great, reliable, inexpensive method for finding patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality.” -Donna Spencer http://www.amazon.com/Card-Sorting-ebook/dp/B004VFUOL0 http://www.BoxesAndArrows.com

Why use Card Sorting? Card sorting can help you identify trends Do the users want to see the information grouped by subject, process, business group, or information type? How similar are the needs of the different user groups? How many potential main categories are there? What should those groups be called?

Types of Card Sorting Open Card Sorting Participants are given cards showing site content with no pre-established groupings. Closed Card Sorting Participants are given cards showing site content with an established initial set of primary groups.

What are the types of card sort? Open & Closed

Open card sorting process Snake Ferrari Cat Ford Dog Gerbil Honda Rolls Royce Mouse

Results Pets Cars Cat Ferrari Dog Honda Mouse Rolls Royce Gerbil Ford Snake

But not always what you expect Cute European Scary Domestic Ford Cat Ferrari Mouse Rolls Royce Dog Snake Gerbil Japanese Honda

But not always what you expect Animals Luxury Regular Ferrari Cat Ford Rolls Royce Honda Dog Gerbil Mouse Snake

Advantages of Card Sorting Simple Cheap Quick to execute Established Involves users Provides a good foundation

Disadvantages of Sorting Does not consider users’ tasks Results may vary Analysis can be time consuming May capture “surface” characteristics only

Don’t Forget Consistency Consistency Across User Environments Modify Provisioned Site (or Templates) Based on Need Each Page Design Should Be Consistent

What is usability Usabilityis aquality attributethat assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. (Jakob Nielsen, 2003)

Usability’s 5 quality components Learnability - how easy can the user accomplish basic tasks? Efficiency– How quickly can tasks be performed? Memorability– After a period of non-use, how easily can a user reestablish proficiency? Errors– How many errors does the user / system make? How severe? Can the user recover? Satisfaction– How pleasant is it to use the design?

Why do we need it When an interface doesn’t make sense PEOPLE DON’T USE THEM

Setting up your Usability Plan Determine what you are trying to find out Establish your purpose ,[object Object]

what worries you with your system?What do you really need to test?

Setting up your Usability Plan Design your Test Identify the users you’ll test ,[object Object]

get users from different levels of competency,[object Object]

Setting up your Usability Plan Heuristic Evaluation Having a small set of evaluators examine an interface and judge it against recognized usability principles

Setting up your Usability Plan 10 Usability Heuristics Visibility of system status Match between system and real world User control and freedom Consistency and standards Error prevention Recognition rather than recall Flexibility and efficiency of use Aesthetic and minimalist design Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors Help and documentation

Setting up your Usability Plan Design your Test Develop a list of tasks you want the user to perform ,[object Object]

Find a specific piece of content

Create something,[object Object]

Setting up your Usability Plan Run your Test Re-assure your User ,[object Object]

make sure the user understands the INTERFACE is being tested, not THEM

Tester should not be a stakeholder,[object Object]

Setting up your Usability Plan Run your Test Debrief user ask about overall experience ask for suggestions THANK THEM

Setting up your Usability Plan Analyze / Report Identify the biggest problems 1st grade by severity Frequency Impact Persistence

Setting up your Usability Plan Analyze / Report Summarize data summarize in human terms identify most common user issues

Identify content stakeholders Questions to ask: Who in your organization creates content? What type of content do they create? Who reviews content? Who edits content? Who uses content? Who approves the publication of content? Who designs the sites that host the content? Who sets the policies for managing content? Who monitors the content in your organization?

Build Mind Map (based on an inventory worksheet)

Analyze content usage What type of content is it? What is the purpose of the content? Who is the author of the content? What format is the content in? Who uses the content? Where is the content currently located?

Plan the flow of content Content is often dynamic, moving from one place to another or from one person to another. Managing this process can be an important success step in content management

Plan the flow of content Scenarios Document is authored by a team in one location and published to another upon completion Web pages can be created in a development site and published to a public site Content that needs to be retained or archived can be moved once its usefulness has been fulfilled. Users can move content from a network share or folder to a document library

Types of Organizing Schemes Objective organizational schemes Alphabetical Chronological Geographical Subjective organizational schemes Topic Task Audience Metaphor Hybrids

Challenges of Organizing Info Ambiguity What kind of language is being used i.e. BSE vs Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Heterogeneity / Homogeneous i.e. storing all project documents vs. storing project plans Differences in perspectives i.e. Looking for invoice by client vs. by project Internal politics Mine, mine, mine!!!

No Single “Approach” Projects Communities Tasks Practices

Common Intranet Processes ,[object Object]

Equipment and Room Reservation and Management

Meeting Planning and Management

Interview Management and Hiring Processes

Training Sign Up and Management

Sales Lead Pipeline,[object Object]

The Outcome Using visual tools provides shared understanding, which is a crucial driver of shared commitment to a goal.

What to watch out for… Workshops become much more interactive; more people are actively involved which leads to greater shared commitment and understanding.

Making Information Architecture Decisions

The Importance of Making Good Information Architecture Decisions

What is the ultimate IA structure? There isn’t one!

You need to Un-enterprise your architecture

Why Enterprise IA doesn’t work One IA doesn’t rule them all What happens when it all gets out of control (and it will) Assumes all processes are created equal (and they are not) Global doesn’t necessarily mean better (how many people really need to search everything) Do not fret, there are models that do work….

Information Architecture and Governance Areas Permanent central portal - Few authors/Many readers Communication Portal ,[object Object]

Enterprise searchCentralPortal Departmental sites ,[object Object]

Business Processes- Few authors/Many readers Increasing Strictness of Governance Collaboration ,[object Object]

Local searchSemi Structured Team sites - Multiple authors Blogs, bios, Social Personal Above The Line versus Below The Line

Recommended Approach Bob Mixon on SharePoint 2007 Site Collections

Enterprise Publishing Many consumer, few contributors Examples: Company communications, employee relations, sales & marketing, human resources IA rules Content tends to be highly controlled & published via established processes Content is published via a ‘push’ method Ability to interact is ‘locked down’ Information is well defined and frequently accessed Access to SharePoint publishing support feature set

Enterprise Collaboration Many contributors, mature processes Examples: Help desk, Job request, Process tracking, Document Management system IA rules Processes have been refined and well documented User interaction is well defined and tested Contributors are well trained Access to the full SharePoint feature set

Teams & Other Junk Many contributors, no control Examples: Team sites, Temporary projects, Departmental sharing IA rules Tightly governed and ‘locked down’ Contributor can do what they want, but have limited abilities Support is minimal Does not participate in Enterprise processes (i.e. global search, managed metadata practices, retention policies) Access to limited SharePoint feature set

SharePoint Containment Hierarchy What we care about from an information architecture perspective.

SharePoint Containment Hierarchy

Site Collection or Site (Subsite)? OR

When To Use A Site Collection Site Collection 1 Site Collection 2 Webparts & Aggregation Webparts & Aggregation Masterpages & Page Layouts Masterpages & Page Layouts Navigation Navigation Search Across Site Collection Boundaries

When To Use A Site Collection Site Collection 1 Site Collection 2 Group Y Group A Group Z Group B Collection Admin Y Group C Collection Admin A Collection Admin Z Collection Admin B

Purpose of a List? ,[object Object]

To Track Complex Input From Multiple People

To Centralize Storage and Retrieval of Content

To Provide Validation, Easy To Use Online Forms

To Reduce Duplication of Effort,[object Object]

When To Use a Single List ,[object Object]

You want to search for items in the same location.(When dispersed across many lists it requires additional effort to configure search scopes).

You want to easily apply consistent versioning, approval, metadata or form settings.

You want to receive consolidated updates on the collection of items (alerts or RSS).,[object Object]

You need to apply different versioning, approval, metadata, or form settings.

You want to distribute management of versioning, metadata, workflows or form settings.

You do not need to receive consolidated updates (alerts or RSS).,[object Object]

One Library or Multiple Libraries? OR

When To Use a Single Library ,[object Object]

You want to search for documents in the same location.(When dispersed across many libraries it requires additional effort to configure search scopes).

You want to receive consolidated updates on the collection of documents (alerts or RSS).,[object Object]

Default Content Types and Metadata Values

Navigating with Metadata, not Folders

What’s wrong with folders? Deep structures hard to navigate Finding stuff is hard Figuring out where to put stuff is even harder Stuck with a rigid structure Search is not the silver bullet

What’s the alternative? metadata

Metadata = No more folders Filtering Views

Really? No more folders? Ever? What situations would you use folders? Subdivide large libraries/lists Security/Permissions Ease of use for users Really? No more folders? Really?

Downsides of Metadata No free lunch (there is pain here) Awful architectural choices to make Multiple site collections Good Practice Bad for Metadata Maintenance headache Can be mitigated Define at top level if possible

Folders for easy permissions Create folder Set permissions Create view without folders Easy for users (they only see what they are supposed to)

Drill down into Military folder

How did we do that? Library tab Library settings

Select a folder and set defaults Note folder inheritance

in SharePoint 2010 Managed Metadata Service Share Metadata across site collections Multilingual Metadata (big gotcha ) Hierarchical Metadata Navigate via Metadata (already discussed) Keywords/Folksonomy (Out of scope today) Folders can assign default metadata (already discussed) metadata

Turn off “Available for Tagging” Add sub elements: Proposal, Quote, Invoice Leave “Available for Tagging checked”

Term Store Manager Painful & Slow Needs a better way I created a ‘toy’ to try out some ideas http://bit.ly/ruveng-mmts Article links to other solutions (Excel)

CSV file for Import to Term Store

To Sum Up… SharePoint 2007 Folders BAAAAD! Never use them Except when the situation warrants SharePoint 2010 Folders GOOOOD! Never use them Except when the situation warrants

Folders vs. Document Sets Document Sets vs Folders

Document Sets Document Sets vs Folders

Folders vs. Document Sets Document Document Document Folder Document Library Folder Folder Document Folder Document Document Set Folder Document Document Set Document

Great Resource! Scott Jamison and Susan Hanley Wrote… !LINK TO WHITEPAPER!

The Outcome You need to understand all of the SharePoint objects, their limitations, and their benefits to make effective decisions.

SharePoint Information Architecture & Usability - SharePoint Saturday The Conference

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