IA Principles & Frameworks

Question 1

What is IA?

Answer 1

Information Architecture aka information design.

The art of organizing information to make it easier for users to consume.

Question 2

Why is IA considered more art than science?

Answer 2

Because IA relies heavily on many sets of guidelines and best practices along with personal experience.
It’s a craft that requires creative thinking and problem-solving.

Question 3

IBM defined “architecture” as?

Answer 3

The conceptual structure and functional behavior distinguishing the organization of data flows and controls, logical design, and physical implementation.

Question 4

Who coined the term “Information Architect”?

Answer 4

Richard Saul Wurman, founder of TED (Technology entertainment and design)

Question 5

What is library science?

Answer 5

The study of how to categorize, catalog, and locate information.

It’s all about creating metadata, which can be used to locate a resource later.

Question 6

What is cognitive psychology?

Answer 6

The study of how the mind works and the underlying processes that take place in a person’s mind.

Question 7

What are the few important aspects of cognitive psychology that directly relate to UX design are?

Answer 7

Cognitive load, mental models, and decision-making

Question 8

What is cognitive load?

Answer 8

Refers to how much information a person can process at any given time.

(Keeping this load low is important to prevent overloading a user with too much data at once)

Question 9

What is a mental model?

Answer 9

An assumption that a user may have before using a given system.

Question 10

What is an IA structure?

Answer 10

Refers to how pages (in design, also interchangeably called screens) are laid out, connected, and given different levels of hierarchy within a website or application.

Question 11

What is a sitemap?

Answer 11

An organizational map that outlines the hierarchy of a website or application.

Question 12

What is a single page?

Answer 12

An application or website that contains all functionality and information within a single page.

Question 13

What is a flat structure?

Answer 13

Each page is at the same level in the hierarchy. No page is more important than the other, and you can’t go any deeper within the hierarchy.

Question 14

What is a single page great for?

Answer 14

Great for very simple websites and applications (e.g., the website for a local restaurant where a visitor can view the menu, opening hours, and contact information all on one page).

Question 15

What is a flat structure great for?

Answer 15

When all pages are equal in importance (e.g., a site that only contains a “Home” page, an “About” page, and a “Contact” page).

It can work well on informational websites and apps for small businesses such as flower shops or restaurants.

Question 16

What is an index page?

Answer 16

This is similar to the flat structure discussed above. The one difference, however, is that visitors will first land on a home or index page that’s higher than all other pages. From here, they can navigate to different areas of the site.

Each of these areas are of equal importance in the site hierarchy. If this site was for a restaurant, for example, it may include a “Home” or “Index” page from which you can navigate to a “Menu” page, a “Contact” page, and an “Opening Hours/Calendar” page.

Question 17

What is a strict hierarchy?

Answer 17

In this structure you to navigate to subpages from the “Home” page. Each subpage (parent) leads to a series of its own subpages (children), but you have to follow the correct path in order to reach the child subpages.

Question 18

When is the strict hierarchy used?

Answer 18

This structure is used for more complex sites such as online newspapers, stores, and blogs where content is organized by multiple categories. Think of a local newspaper site. You may have a “Home” page with links to the daily news. From here, however, you can navigate to different subcategories (think “Sports,” “Environment,” and “Politics”). From each subcategory, you can dive even deeper. On the “Sports” page, for example, you can navigate to “Basketball,” “Football,” and “Baseball.”

Question 19

What is a Co-existing hierarchies?

Answer 19

This structure is the same as the strict hierarchy with one exception—you can access each child page from different parent pages.

Question 20

What is a co-existing hierarchies great for?

Answer 20

This works well if there’s a great deal of overlapping information on your site or app. For example, if a user were browsing an article on seasonal vegetables on your good food blog, you might want them to have easy access to the “Recipes” page to make use of their new knowledge.

Question 21

What are the five most common tasks of IA?

Answer 21

1. User flows
2. Wireframes
3. Sitemaps
4. Navigational structures
5. Labeling and data modeling

Question 22

Why was IBM’s definition of “architecture” in 1964 so revolutionary?

Answer 22

This was the first time “architecture” was applied to something other than buildings

Question 23

Some of the common tasks of IA include creating:

a. Mental models, user interfaces, order confirmation forms, search systems
b. Content strategies, content management systems, interactional design (IxD) elements
c. Single pages, flat structures, index pages, strict hierarchy structures
d. User flows, wireframes, sitemaps, navigational structures, labels and data models.

Answer 23

d. User flows, wireframes, sitemaps, navigational structures, labels and data models.

Question 24

Which of the following is an example of information architecture in action?

a. Hierarchy
b. Matrix Management system
c. Knowledge transfer
d. The Dewey decimal system

Answer 24

d. The Dewey decimal system

Question 25

You’ve just started playing a new video game. The battle system is very complex and gives you the option of dodging, parrying, switching weapons, casting spells, and teaming up with your party members all while you have to pay attention to the many enemies’ movements, health, and weaknesses. You find yourself very overwhelmed! This is an example of:

a. Interaction design
b. Cognitive load
c. Co-existing Hierarchies
d. Navigational Structures

Answer 25

b. Cognitive load

Question 26

You’re getting ready to build your own portfolio page for your UX design work. You plan on having a homepage, an about page, a works page, and a contact page. None of these pages would have any child pages, and a visitor could easily navigate between them. What which of the following describes this IA structure?

a. Single page
b. Index page
c. Flat structure
d. Co-existing hierarchies

Answer 26

c. Flat structure

Question 27

You’re trying to determine the best IA structure to use for your new website, “Nuts for Walnuts: The Ultimate Source for this Decadent Nut.” You plan on having pages such as “History of the Walnut,” “Walnut Recipes,” and “Benefits of the Walnut,” each with its own subcategories of pages for users to click on. Which of the following describes this structure?

a. Strick flat structure
b. Single page
c. Index page
d. Strict hierarchy

Answer 27

d. Strict hierarchy