mapping the way forward ux scotland 2014

MAPPING THE WAY FORWARD

Richard Ingram

@richardjingram

UX Scotland, 19th June 2014 #uxscot

OpenStreetMap of Boston, MASo much to see and do and yet my stay was short.

Sketched map of Boston, MAI didn’t need an accurate map. My friends edited out what I didn’t need.

© T

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Babylonian map of the worldClay tablet, probably from Sippar, southern Iraq (c.700-500 BC)

Babylon

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Hereford Mappa Mundi (‘Sheet of the World’)Inked parchment, the largest medieval map known to still exist (c.1300)

London

Edinburgh

Administrative

Social

Military

Political

Walt Disney’s business map,1957Depicts a central film asset and its supporting entertainment assets

Growth of Las Vegas, NV 1984–2012Google Earth timelapse constructed from satellite imagery

Radial hierarchical organisation structureAbout as complex and contradictory as its name suggests

John Rocque’s map of London, 1746Rocque deliberately left out the city’s unsavoury elements

Map of organisation-wide content distributionOr that giant hairball the cat coughed up yesterday. Equally yucky.

MAPPING OUT A STORYBeyond physical geography

Wabash river

Ohio river

Mississippi river

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Native North American buckskin mapPossibly used in land negotiations with the British (c.1744)

Distribution Distance

Overlap DirectionN

A

BC

A

B

LIGHT

HEAT

SUN

gives

gives

Exploded view Concept map

Different maps, same basic building blocks

Topological map Star map

Different maps, same basic building blocks

North

South

EastWest

Find your coordinate systemAnything can be mapped using pairs of opposites


Expensive

Cheap

Slow Fast


High

Low

Small Large

Plot your landmarksStart with the most prominent feature, then move outward

N

Plot your landmarksStart with the most prominent feature, then move outward

FINDING OUR WAYThe unfamiliar environment

Content

ProcessesPeople

Tackling that complex trinityContent governance is an important tool for this end

web�� site?

We�� use�� ‘website’

Oh�� well�� ...

✓

✗

Maintaining content consistency is hardParticularly when many contributors have other responsibilities

Style�� query Content�� Control�� filter Publish�� to�� web

web-site?

Regional English Council

Approx. 15,000 staff

7 departments

Serving approx. 700,000 people

Scenario: Design a new content workflow

Digital Services department (Our heroes)

Our varied, siloed environmentSome departments are responsible for 100s of pages,

while others only a few

Follow�� me!

Map Expert guide (Mandy)

Our varied, siloed environmentHow to find our bearings in unfamiliar surroundings

Our varied, siloed environmentTo discover how content decisions are made and how they could be improved, we need to figure out who

best to talk to

Mandy

?

??

?

?

Let’s map our environment

Digital�� Services

Chief�� Executive's

Corporate�� Resources

Children�� and�� Young�� People

Adults�� &�� Communities

Environment�� and��

Transport

Community�� Planning

We’ll begin by marking out each of the seven departments

LargeSmall Fast

Slow

Let’s devise our coordinate system







Transport


LargeSmall Fast

Slow

We’re on the move! What can we see?







Transport


LargeSmall Fast

Slow







Let’s map those pathways


Transport

LargeSmall Fast

Slow







What can our marked pathways tell us?


Transport

FASTER

SLOWER

LargeSmall Fast

Slow







Where are the opportunities for improvement?


Transport

LargeSmall Fast

Slow







Our map: Simple, but effective


Transport

MAPPING OUT A PROCESSThe unfamiliar environment

Requirements for an effective CMS workflowMeet the needs of the organisation and

Conducting internal user interviewsAsk them to walk you through several different content

creation and publishing scenarios


Mandy Content Officer

The ensuing conversationMandy talks us through the typical process for publishing

a press release on the council website

On�� Monday�� I�� received�� a�� request�� from�� John,�� Highways�� Manager�� at�� the�� Environment�� and�� Transport�� department,�� to�� publish�� a�� press�� release�� to�� inform�� the�� community�� of�� the�� start�� of�� major�� road�� improvement�� work.�� !I�� first�� called�� Helen,�� Technical�� Services�� Manager�� at�� the�� Environment�� and�� Transport�� department,�� who�� emailed�� through�� the�� source�� material�� and�� directed�� me�� on�� the�� technical�� details�� that�� needed�� to�� be�� included.

The ensuing conversation cont.Mandy talks us through the typical process for publishing

a press release on the council website

After�� completing�� the�� draft�� in�� the�� CMS�� environment,�� I�� marked�� the�� press�� release�� as�� 'ready�� for�� review'�� and�� emailed�� Rachael,�� a�� Content�� Manager�� and�� colleague�� in�� the�� Digital�� Services�� team,�� and�� Helen�� again�� for�� their�� feedback.�� !After�� one�� or�� two�� line�� edits,�� I�� was�� ready�� to�� mark�� the�� press�� release�� as�� 'ready�� for�� publishing',�� so�� I�� emailed�� David,�� a�� Digital�� Media�� Officer�� to�� prepare�� and�� publish�� the�� press�� release�� to�� the�� test�� server.

The ensuing conversation cont.Mandy is still talking us through the typical process for

publishing a press release on the council website

John,�� Helen�� and�� Rachael�� were�� all�� emailed�� to�� help�� me�� perform�� a�� second�� review�� of�� the�� content,�� where�� they�� duly�� approved�� its�� publishing�� to�� the�� public�� website.�� !David�� then�� got�� all�� the�� glory�� as�� usual�� by�� hitting�� the�� button�� marked�� 'publish'.

I’m�� completely�� lost!�� Let’s�� make�� a�� map.

Who are the characters in our story?

Mandy�� Content�� Officer

John�� Highways�� Manager

Helen�� Technical�� Services�� Manager

Rachael�� Content�� Manager

David�� Digital�� Media�� Officer






Enviro

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Digita

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Enviro

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Digita

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vice

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MAKE�� REQUEST

SOURCE�� MATERIAL

PROVIDE�� MATERIAL

CREATE�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

EDIT�� DRAFT

PUBLISH�� TO�� TEST�� SERVER

REVIEW�� &�� APPROVE



REVIEW

PUBLISH�� TO�� WEB






Enviro

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ansp

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Digita

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vice

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MAKE�� REQUEST



CREATE�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

EDIT�� DRAFT





REVIEW


WHY�� THE�� DELAYS?






Enviro

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ansp

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Digita

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vice

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MAKE�� REQUEST



REVIEW�� DRAFT


CREATE�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

REVIEW�� DRAFT

EDIT�� DRAFT




REVIEW


CMS�� INTERACTIONS

LargeSmall Fast

Slow







Breaking down the department


Transport

Transportation

Environment

Highways


LargeSmall Fast

Slow







Why is John’s sub-department failing?


Transport

Transportation

Environment

Highways



LargeSmall Fast

Slow







CMS workarounds adding unnecessary time and cost


Transport

Transportation

Environment

Highways



I�� have�� no�� access�� to�� the�� central�� CMS!

LargeSmall Fast

Slow




Community�� Planning Adults�� &��

Communities


Where else could improvements be made?


Transport






Transport


SPEED�� UP�� PROCESSES

=�� POTENTIAL�� SAVINGS

MAPPING THE WAY FORWARDThe power of drawing

Remember: We are not completely bound by what has happened before

Content

ProcessesPeople

Balancing that complex trinity

Suggestion: let’s not always rely on the old established categories, we can always invent new ones

New ideas won’t always fit neatly

�� ?!?

�� Aha!

Suggestion: let’s all step away from our screens and draw together.Encourage those innate inventive qualities

Make use of basic shapes, arrows, and faces. Find your axis. Above all: Embrace your mistakes.

Mapmaking is a basic human instinct

THANK YOU, EDINBURGH!UX Scotland, 19th June 2014 #uxscot

Richard Ingram

@richardjingram

Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning by Dan M. Brown (@brownorama) !You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination by Katharine Harmon !Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don't Work by Dan Roam (@dan_roam) !The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam !Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer by Peter Turchi

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mapping the way forward ux scotland 2014

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