Section 3 Flashcards
Architecture?
The conceptual structure and functional behavior distinguishing the organization of data flows and controls, logical design, and physical implementation
IA?
Information architecture
List two IA Methodologies often incorporated in UX design?
Library science. Cognitive psychology.
Library science?
Library science is the study of how to categorize, catalog, and locate information. It’s all about creating meta-data, which can be used to locate a resource later. Contrary to what its name may imply, library science isn’t strictly limited to libraries. It’s particularly useful to the IA Side of UX design, which is concerned with creating organized applications
Give one example of library science?
One example we can look at is yelp, website, Responsive web app, and mobile app that lets you find nearby businesses and restaurants. While it may be based on location and proximity It’s really no different than a library. Imagine that a location on Yelp is a book in your library. It’s the UX designer’s job to make sure the user can easily weed through the millions of restaurants in order to find the restaurant they seek
Cognitive psychology?
Is the study of how the mind works and the underlying processes take place in a persons mind. A few important aspects of cognitive psychology that directly relate to UX design or cognitive load, mental models, and decision making. As you read through the following terms and review the corresponding images, think about how each plays into your user journey
Cognitive load?
A cognitive load 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
Mental models?
As mentioned in exercise 2.5, mental models and user journeys, a mental model is an assumption that a user may have before using a given system. In the image below, a user fills out a form and expects the brightest button below the form to be the submission button, allowing them to move on to the next step. What if, however, this button actually canceled the process? Doing so would violate users previous assumptions and create intense friction
Decision making?
People don’t want to make hard decisions. As the US designer, it’s your job to make sure that the choices users face are clear and simple. In the image below, the user only has to make one decision that relates directly to the task at hand. Do I fill out the form and press send? Or do I skip this step? There are no other links or buttons on the page, making it a distraction free and, thus, easier to accomplish the task at hand.
IA Structure?
IA Structure 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.
IA structures are illustrated using something called a_______?
Site map
Site map?
A site map, which is an organizational map that outlines the hierarchy of the website or application
How are site maps different than user flows?
Site maps are different from user flows as they focus on the page hierarchy rather than the specific actions a user takes to traverse the application. This means the designer would consider the generalized structure of pages in relation to each other as opposed to thinking about each action a user would take to reach a goal. Therefore, the task or options available to a user within a page would not be visible on a site map. Nevertheless, a user flow would influence a site maps hierarchy. It’s always our job is designers to ensure an intuitive path through our product for the user to complete their desire action.
_________ Display hierarchy from broader to more defined pages/screens?
Site maps
List three things that site maps do not do?
They do not specify all actions or elements of an individual page. They do not specify what the layout or hierarchy of an individual page should look like. They aren’t meant to be used to plan a continent of your individual pages
A very important step when creating a response of the web app is to?
A very important step when creating your responsive app is to develop a functional site map for your product. The first step here is to decide on the basic structure you will base the site map on. The nature of your product, how complex the content is, and the types of content it offers will all determine which structure you choose when making decisions about information architecture. There are several types of structure that can be utilized in IA. The examples below show some of the most common structures and their corresponding site maps
Single page?
This is exactly what it sounds like, an application or website that contains all functionality and information within a single page. This is great for a very simple website 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
Flat structure?
In this structure, 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. This structure works well with informational brochure style websites where all pages are equal in importance e.g., a site that only contains a homepage, and about page, and a contact page. It can work well on the informational websites and apps for small businesses such as a flower shop or restaurants.
Index page?
This is similar to the flat structure discussed above. The one difference, however, is the visitors will first land on a home or index page it’s higher than all other pages. From here, they can navigate to different areas on 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
Strict hierarchy?
This structure is a little more complex than those explored previously. Here, do you navigate to sub pages from the homepage. Each sub page or parent page leads to a series of its own sub pages or children pages, but you have to follow the correct path in order to reach the child’s sub pages. This structure is used for more complex sites such as online newspapers, stories, and blogs where content is organized by multiple categories think of a local newspaper site. Do you have a homepage with links to the daily news. From here, however, you can navigate to different sub categories such as think sports, environment, and politics. From each sub category, you can dive even deeper. On the sports page, for example, you can navigate to basketball, football, and baseball
Call existing hierarchies?
This structure is the same as the strict hierarchy discussed above with one exception, you can access each child page from different parent pages. 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.
What are the five most common task of IA including creating?
User flows what you’ve done an exercise 2.6 Task analysis and user flows. Wire frames. Site maps. Navigational structure. Labeling and data modeling.
What is the technique that will help you iron out your site map and make it more intuitive?
Card sorting
Card sorting?
Card sorting is a participatory design method used to evaluate or generate ideas for the information architecture of a product or service. As the name implies, card sorting is usually done with cards, either physical or digital. A participant is asked to organize content topics into categories that make the most sense. The aim is to find patterns they give clues about the most logical and user friendly way to organize your website or application.
Card sorting takes the guesswork out of work?
Card sorting takes to guesswork out of organizing information. He can help you build a structure for your website, decide what to put on the homepage, and label categories for navigation. Of course, it’s up to you to do a little legwork out front by getting to know your potential users and understanding the aim of your content.
List the two types of different cards sorting?
Open card sorting period closed card sorting.
Open card sorting?
In open card sorting, participants are as to group websites or product content into their own categories, then name these categories. The names should be short but descriptive. You specifically refrain from giving users the category names. This allows your Users to categorize the contact them selves in the way they feel is most logical.
Closed card sorting?
Participants are asked to group website or product content into predefined categories. If we were to conduct a closed cards work with the same con tent cards from above, we might use the following categories to sort the continent
Closed card sorting is useful when what?
Close card sorting is useful when you already have predetermined categories and simply want to know how to organize your new content. He can also be used to validate hypothesize categorization
What items do you need to do cards sorting?
All you will need is a pen, sticky notes, and a small group of participants
What are four things that can be applied to both types of cards sorting?
Randomize the order if possible. Give a time estimate. Limit the number of cards. Break up sorting into parts.
Randomize the order if possible?
Consider randomizing the con tent for each card sorting session to remove any buyers it could result from having the same organization at the beginning of each sore.
Give a time estimate?
It’s helpful to let the participant know upfront how long the sorting exercise should take. This will reduce the feeling of her redness that could skew results
Limit the number of cards? It might be tempting to put every topic or category that you can into the sort, but this can actually make things more complicated And difficult for the participant. Try to Provide no more than 30 to 40 topics and categories
Break up sorting into parts?
Try starting with an open sore. This will help you organize the high-level sections of your application. Afterwards, use a closed card store to test your labels and ensure their intuitive
How to conduct a card sort?
The easiest way to conduct a card store is digitally. There are tools that make this process quite simple and allow you to reach a wide audience by simply sending them a link to the test. Optimalsort Buy optimal workshop is a great tool for this
What is the second or different option and the one listed above for performing cards sorting?
The other option is to conduct a physical card sort. This works well if all your Participants are nearby. The tactile nature of this test can also make it seem more fun, almost like a game
What three steps would you conduct on either a digital or physical card sort?
Create a list of topics from your website or app content. Try to stick to no more than 30 to 40 topics. If using online software, test out the program yourself ahead of time so that you’re familiar with the process. If you’re conducting a physical test i.e., a test/card sorting session conducted in person, simply write each topic on an index card. Make sure you have the blank cards available if you’re conducting an open short test so that these users can write categories on them. You could also use differently colored cards for topics and categories. Set up the session, notify your participants, and finally conduct the test.
Be sure to prep your testers on what before the card sorting?
Be sure to prep your testers on the time commitment, what a card sort is, and what to expect from the process before the test begins. This is a small but important step. When your testers are aware of what they’re expected to do, they’ll be able to focus more on the session rather than trying to figure out what’s going on
What is the next step that you will need to do after completing a digital card sorting exercise?
Once your sessions have concluded, you’ll need to analyze the results. If you used an online card sorting program, they’ll likely offer some sort of analysis or metrics regarding your card sorting results. This makes the analysis part a bit easier as they can spot patterns or trends for you
What is the next step you will need to do after performing a physical card sorting exercise?
If you’re doing and in person card store with physical cards, it’ll be up to you to analyze the results and write down any patterns do you notice in order to help form your site or app structure
After you have gathered the results for the card sorting you can use what three questions for analysis?
Have you noticed any patterns in the responses? Are there any results that stick out to you? Are you surprised by any of the results?
Card sorting is not a method of evaluation, rather it is what?
Rather, it’s a participatory design method that helps facilitate user centered input and supports other UX activities such as task analysis, content auditing, and heuristic evaluation.
List the four pros with card sorting?
Affordable. Easy and quick to implement. Encourages user participation early on. Sheds light on white great site structure looks like.
List the four cons with card sorting?
Isolated from the users task. Results may be inconsistent. Analyzing the collected data may take a lot of time. May only catch cursory traits such as documented type rather than Site con tent or user journey
_________ Is one of the most important aspects of UX design?
Navigation
Heuristic?
A heuristic Is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. These rule of thumb strategies shorten decision making time and allow people to function without constantly stopping to think about their next course of action.
Your implies?
Your implies the objective perspective of the software, almost as if it were a personal assistant.
My?
My, on the other hand, implies more personal ownership, so my library or my files makes sense given that these are objects which actually do belong to you. If you’re specifically talking about something that the system has provided or created for you, on the other hand, then your might makes more sense. E.g., your suggestions of your results
What’s a design pattern?
Simply put, a design pattern is a reusable, well-known solution to a usability problem. As humans, we look for familiarity in our every day lives. Cloud formations might look like dogs and bunny rabbits, star constellations take human form, and we will see familiar faces and sees a People. These are all patterns we look for instinctively, or perhaps even haphazardly
To design patterns that are almost thought of as expectations to end-users, what are they?
It’s standard for mobile devices to offer multi touch gestures. Nearly every photo you encounter on a mobile device can be zoomed with a pinch gesture.
Learn ability?
How easy is it for a user to learn how to use your software? As mentioned previously, sticking to no one design patterns can ensure that your software is as easy to learn as possible. Here are some patterns that specifically help improve learn ability
On boarding?
On boarding is the process of showing the user how your software works Maya and information walk-through. Good on boarding uses plain language and pleasant visuals to describe features, giving you a sense of progress as you go so you know how many steps are left
Interaction design?
Interaction design is typically considered a subject of UX design, focusing specifically on the way users interact with a product, environment, system, or service. While UX design is concerned with the experience, look, and feel of the software as a whole, interaction design is concerned with the specific interactions that occur when using the software. Things like page transitions and buttons, touch interactions, keyboard and mouse input, etc. all fall under the umbrella of interaction design
What is usability?
Usability refers to the ease with which users can navigate a user interface. If your app or website ranks high and use ability, users can navigate it smoothly and accomplish their goals without trouble
In regards to the term usability, list five quality attributes?
Learn ability. Efficiency. Memorability. Errors. Satisfaction.
Learn ability?
This refers to a user interphase that makes it easy for users to accomplish their goals the very first time they see it. Apps or websites that fill familiar because they’re easy to get around or learnable
Efficiency?
This refers to the speed at which a user can accomplish their goals after they’re familiar with an app or website. In other words, after you’ve used an app once or twice, how fast can you navigate it
Memorability?
Have you ever gone through a period of time without using one of your favorite apps? Once you come back to it, is it still easy for you to use? Or, do you have to spend time re-learning its interface? This is memorability, or how easy it is for users to remember how to use an app or website after not doing so for a long time
Errors?
How likely are users to make an error, and how many do they make? After making them, is it easy for them to get back on track? This deals with user errors, when they happen, why, and how to help users get around them
Satisfaction?
This refers to how enjoyable it is to use an app or website. Is it gratifying and fun? Or, do users feel miserable using it?
What is heuristic?
a heuristic Is a principle that is an exactly a rule, but isn’t exactly not, either think of it more as a rule of thumb or guide. Heuristics by nature Are not black and white rules to follow, instead, they Offer guidelines that can be applied in tweet based on a given scenario
Heuristics allow us to standardize what?
Heuristics allow us to standardize common methods we consider to be the right way of doing things
What are the reasons usability relies on heuristics rather than rules?
The reason usability relies on heuristics rather than rules is because designers are, and art doesn’t always conform to rules
