Site Maps

By Norma Palomino

LIS 385 T – Information Architecture and Design

Site Maps - Introduction

Diagramming tools

Powerful tool of communication

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d) Diagramming tools

Powerful tool of communication in organizing:

Applied in sophisticated analysis of data in manufacturing

Data about the relationship between quality and productivity can be show as….

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d)

Confused?

Me too.

Source: Robust Design: Taguchi Method by Cardinal, L., Inman, A., Jew, J., Mandel, A. & Schultz, C.

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d)

Source: Robust Design: Taguchi Method by Cardinal, L., Inman, A., Jew, J., Mandel, A. & Schultz, C.

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d) Three kinds of diagramming tools for IA: Storyboards

(source: Storyboarding, Retrieved from http://w3.tvi.cc.nm.us/~jvelez/MMS170/storyboard/index.htm)

Walt Disney’s process of designing cartoons Applied to IA…

Schematics (“wireframes”)

Site Maps (“blueprints”)

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d)

Source: Rosenfeld & Morville, p. 294

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d)

Source: Van Duyne, 2002, p.73

Site Maps – Introduction (cont’d)

Source: “IBuilder” (http://www.ibuildergroup.com/Articles/Maps-of-Web-Sites.htm)

Britannica online: site map prototype or “blueprint”

Site Maps - Discussion Two kinds of Site Maps:

Organization tool: “blueprint”

Navigation tool: “table of content” “Table of contents” are not “Indexes” !

“Candyland Crafts"

“Lawrence Livermore”

Site Maps - Discussion (cont’d) A Site Map constitutes a hierarchical

arrangements of data

Structure of the site Relationship among subjects within the content of

the site Book’s “Table of Contents” metaphor Two kind of “finding” activities: browsing and searching

(Rosenfeld & Morville, p. 170) Browsing site maps Searching indexes

Site Maps - Discussion (cont’d) Kinds of Site Maps for Navigation

Textual

Graphical

Interactive

Site Maps - Discussion (cont’d) Site Maps for Navigation

Careful!... New technology can fail!..

(Ooops…)

Site Maps - Conclusion The model of site maps has to be chosen regarding the kind of

information the user will look for

Don confuse “Index” with “Table of Contents”!

Morville: “the state of the art in print-based navigation technologies includes tables of contents and back-of-the-book indexes. These tools have stood the test of time because they work” (Mapping your web site, 2002, Commandment #2, ¶).

Use Index and Table of Contents (“Site Maps”) as complimentary tools for your web site

Site Maps - Sources“Cybergeography”:http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/atlas.html

“iBuilder”:http://www.ibuildergroup.com/Articles/Maps-of-

Web-Sites.htm

“Mappa Mundi”http://mappa.mundi.net/maps/

Site Maps - Bibliography Cockburn, A. & Jones, S. (1996). Which way now? Analyzing and easing inadequacies in WWW

navigation. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45, 104-129 DiNucci, D. (1998). Getting there from here. Print: America’s Graphic Design Magazine, 52(Sep-Oct),5.

Retrieved October 15, 2002, from http://www.printmag.com/ Gagnon, G. (2002, February). Mapping your site [Electronic version retreived from

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,2992,00.asp]. PC Magazine, 1-3

Hart, Ch.W.L., Maher, D. & Montelongo, M. (1988). Florida Power Light Quality Improvement (QI) Story Exercise (A). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.

Morville. P. (2002). Mapping your web site. Semantic Studios. Retrieved October 15, 2002, from: http://semanticstudios.com/publications/web_architect/ mapping.html

Miksa, F. (2000). A general outline of information entity access control. Retrieved October 4, 2002, from the University of Texas at Austin, LIS 384K.8 Blackboard Site: http://courses.utexas.edu/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_60544 _1&frame=top

Pilgrim, C.J. & Leung, Y.K. (1999). Designing WWW Site Map Systems. Paper presented at the 10th International Workshop on Database & Expert Systems Applications, held on September 01 - 03, 1999 in Florence, Italy. Retrieved October 15, 2002, from: http://www.computer.org/proceedings/dexa/0281/ 02810253abs.htm

Rosenfeld, L. & Morville, P. (2002). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: O’Reilly.

Shneiderman, B. (1997). Designing information-abundant web sites: issues and recommendations. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 47, 5-29

Sifer, M. & Liechti, O. (1999). Zooming in One Dimension Can Be Better Than Two: An Interface for Placing Search Results in Context with a Restricted Sitemap , Hiroshima University. Paper presented at the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages held on September 13 - 16, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved October 15, 2002, from the IEE web page: http://www.computer.org/proceedings/vl/0216/02160072abs.htm

Van Duyne, Landay, J.A. & Hong, J. I. (2002). The Design of Sites: Patterns, Principles and Processes for Crafting a Customer-Centered Web Experience. Boston: Addison-Wesley