dk+st uxpa

Understanding Information ArchitectureBy Dan Klyn and Shari Thurow2013 UXPA ConferenceWashington D.C. July 12, 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Places Made of Information

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Places Full of Complexity and Contradiction

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

“information architecture is the only field I’m aware of that is concerned with the structural integrity of meaning across contexts.

Anyone who questions the relevance of IA by diminishing it to “just” website navigation in 2013 is talking about their understanding of the state of the profession 15 years ago”

-- Jorge Arango past President of The Information Architecture Institute

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

A Model for Understanding Information Architecture

Arrangement of the parts.

OntologyParticular meaning.

Rules for interaction among the parts.

Choreography

Taxonomy

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Image pilfered from @inkblurt’s tweetstream

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

What Is The Meaning of App Store?

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

… How About Here?

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

What Is The Meaning of iTunes?

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

taxonomy

Arrangement

of the parts

ontology

Particular meaning

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Taxonomy = Arranging Meaning in Context

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Taxonomy = Arranging Meaning in Context

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Taxonomy = Arranging Meaning in Context

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Taxonomy = Arranging Meaning Across Contexts

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Taxonomy = Arranging Meaning Across Contexts

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

A Model for Understanding Information Architecture

Arrangement of the parts.

OntologyParticular meaning.

Rules for interaction among the parts.

Choreography

Taxonomy

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Choreography = Rules For How The Parts May Interact

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Choreography: Appropriate Unfolding?

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Choreography: Appropriate Unfolding?

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Ontology

Arrangement of the parts

Particular meaning

Rules for

interaction

among the

parts.

Choreography

A Model for Understanding Information Architecture

Arrangement of the parts.

OntologyParticular meaning.

Rules for interaction among the parts.

Choreography

Taxonomy

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Findability is critical facet of UX:

desirable

useful

valuable

accessible

credible

usable

findable

desirable

useful

valuable

accessible

credible

usable

findable

desirable

useful

valuable

accessible

credible

usable

findable

http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

The facet I focus on:

find•a•bil•i•ty [fahynd-duh-bil-i-tee] −noun

a. The quality of being locatable or navigable.

b. The degree to which a particular object is easy to discover or locate.

c. The degree to which a system or environment supports navigation and retrieval (search).

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Query (search) AskBrowse

Adapted from diagram in Morville and Callender’s Search Patterns.

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Search engine optimization is…

…optimizing an interface for search engines.

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Search engine optimization is…

People (Searchers) Search Engines

SEARCH-ENGINE FRIENDLY

…optimizing an interface for people who use search engines.

technology-centered design

user-centered

design

“I overheard a senior vice president say, ‘…and then we’ll get the SEO fairies to sprinkle magic pixie dust and everything will be swell!’ It was a joke, but there’s truth in every joke.

What did he mean by magic pixie dust? There is no such thing in SEO.”

-- http://searchengineland.com/why-seo-needs-its-own-reputation-management-64637

SEO is not…

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Search engine optimization is…

• …optimizing a website for people who use search engines.

• SEO professionals are concerned with:– Labeling website content so that it is easy to find– Organizing website content so that it is easy to find– Ensuring search engines have access to desired content– Ensuring search engines don’t have access to undesirable content

• Applies to both:– Web search engines– Site search engines

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Also applies:

• Human users

• Non-human users

Desktop Notebook Tablet Mobile

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Fundamental building blocks of SEO:

Architectureand Design

Keywordsand Labels

LinkDevelopment

and Social

Searcher Goals

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Architecture, navigation, and layout:

Most important

Least important

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

On-the-page criteria:

On-the-pagecriteria

Architectureand Design

Keywordsand Labels

LinkDevelopment

and Social

Searcher Goals

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Off-the-page criteria:

Off-the-pagecriteria

Keywordsand Labels

Architectureand Design

LinkDevelopment

and Social

Searcher Goals

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

What searchers and search engines determine:

Architectureand Design

Keywordsand Labels

LinkDevelopment

and Social

Searcher Goals

Infrastructure& Scent

Aboutness

Validation & Credibility

Searcher Goals

=

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Web searcher goals:

Navigational

(Where can I go?)

Transactional

(What can I do?)

Informational

(What can I learn/know?)

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Navigational queries:

Re-find

Known content/site

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Go = navigational:

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Even if a site has a #1 position:

3

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Searchers don’t want this:

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

C

Informational queries:

Answer to question Quick fact

ListRead reviews

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Know/learn = informational:

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

C

Transactional queries:

Watch a video

Listen to music

Look at pictures

Download

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Do = transactional:

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

SEO professionals also want this:

3

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Mobile queries:

Quick fact LocationPersonal

Information

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

• We all have search responsibilities:– Keywords (labels) are important.– Treat most pages as a point of entry.– Don’t limit access to desired content.– Accommodate searching as well as browsing behaviors.– Be aware that some of your findability solutions can cause search engine

problems (both web and site search engines).

IA and usability decisions have a direct impact on findability.

The “blame” game:

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

UXPA Conference – Washington D.C. 2013

Thank you!sthurow@search-usability.com@sharithurow

Search Engine Visibility From New Riders

Companion site at: SearchEnginesBook.com

When Search Meets Web Usability

Companion site at: SearchMeetsUsability.com