InformationArchitecture Flashcards
What is AI?
*Vital to user experience
*Structuring and organisation of information in digital space
*Where can I find information and fast?
The User: Looking for information
*User - centred
*Focus on who you are
designing for
*People look for information
in different ways and people
look for different kinds of
information
* looking at Google
Implicit Architectures
*These architectures consist of the relationships inferred by the user *They are often unintentional
*They are cause juxtaposition
Explicit architectures
*These architectures are made apparent to the user
*Common example: navigation bar *Note that “explicit” does not necessarily mean “clear”
Organisation schemes
*These schemes divide information into well-defined, mutually exclusive sections which typically have a standard order
*Standard ordering systems include:
*Alphabetical, chronological, geographical, etc.
Cognitive load
*The content is the main reason why your users visit your website
How can we make sure that the content that the user sees is relevant to them and not overwhelming? Cognitive load: brain power that is needed to process information.
How to reduce cognitive load?
*Limiting information
*Using filters
*Sorting options
*Giving users the option to save
information or compare information
*Search bar to get more relevant
information
*Amazon: categorical too overwhelming but the search bar has an option to limit information and then use filters and sorting
*Important for UX designers to know what content lives on their website
Ambiguous categories?Content Audit
*An inventory of all the information on a website or App
* Look at all the pages and articles and group them or create a map of all the content that exists on your website.
3 key models of IA
*Navigation
*Structure
*Taxonomy
Navigation
*Series of UI elements such as menus and links that show the users what they are currently viewing and where they can go (front stage)
Navigation menu
*Too many items in menu are problematic *Magical number 7 items debunked
*Depends…
*Contentbreadth
*How well text
describes labels(labels are meaningful)
*Browsing vs speaking
*Prioritisation–important things a the end or at the beginning rather than the middle where they can get lost
Navigation: Findability
*Findability– can users locate something they assume exists. (finding keys when leaving home)
*In a usability test: ask users to find that item…(scavenger hunt task)
*Placing an item where it is
expected!
*Where can you find reviews?
Navigation: discoverability
*Discoverability: will users notice something that they weren’t aware existed? (that thing you didn’t know you needed?)
*In a usability test: Observe unprompted usage during usability test (wait and see)
*Analytics usage data–if they aren’t using it then something off with usability. Place it in noticeable areas that are relevant e.g.top of the page
Prioritising: Search vs navigation
*Which to improve with a limited budget?
* People are likely to search options if they think your website will deliver results that are closer to their goals. Not all sites have this option
*Users use navigation to search a website to see what is on offer.
*Time and effort!!Here!!!
*Search option is cognitively taxing for the user as they need to think about a keyword that they want to search. Also, effort in terms of typing,especially on a touch screen and might not get the results they want.
IA Structure
*Map of all key stages in a site and the relationship between them.(backstage)
*Helps users decide where a piece of content should go. *Similar to navigation but it is a whole plan rather than a little slice that a user can see at one time. (Sitemap) *Think of a building: navigation is the signs, steps and elevator but you can not see the whole building at the same time.
*IA structure is architecture of the
building/blueprint
