Structure and Navigation

Question 1

What is Information Architecture (IA)?

Answer 1

Refers to how we organize, structure and label content on our software.

Question 2

What is the purpose of Information Architecture?

Answer 2

To help people achieve their goals and accomplish tasks with the least amount of friction.

Question 3

What would be the ‘Skeleton’?

Answer 3

Information Architecture (Site map)

Question 4

What would be the ‘Flesh an Organs’?

Answer 4

Content

Question 5

What is the ratio between primary navigation and site structure?

Answer 5

1:1 mapping/relationship

Question 6

What 5 things does Information Architecture reflect?

Answer 6

• How a website is structured
• How content is organized
• Influences primary navigation (but not all nav)
• Defines where content “lives”
• Big impact on user experience

Question 7

What are the 6 steps to setting up Information Architecture?

Answer 7

1. Follow conventions, benchmark peers
2. Look at traffic data to understand the most popular areas and consider structure around those areas.
3. Look at search data to understand what is searched the most to consider as higher priorities
4. Define hypothesis and first draft of IA
5. Conduct a card sort to validate
6. Refine the IA

Question 8

What is User Flow?

Answer 8

Refers to how people move through the IA structure.

Question 9

How do you determine the length of the flow?

Answer 9

Number of different screen states, NOT the sum of the number of screens.

Question 10

What 3 things do you need before designing a screen?

Answer 10

1. Understand where the screen sits in the structure
2. Understand it’s sequence in the main user flows
3. Be conscious of different screen states

Question 11

What do you need to consider before wireframing?

Answer 11

Need to consider all the different user flows/scenarios and identify the top 3-5 critical flows.

Question 12

What is navigation in UX?

Answer 12

By product of IA representing the customer’s mental model.

Question 13

What are the 3 types of navigation patterns?

Answer 13

• Horizontal
• Vertical
• Navigation drawer/Off canvas nav

Question 14

What is a horizontal navigation pattern?

Answer 14

Primary (global) navigation on the top of the page on every page. It can drill down to a secondary navigation that changes depending on your location in the website.

Question 15

What is a vertical navigation pattern?

Answer 15

Local (secondary) navigation particularly useful for a long lists of subsections that wouldn’t fit horizontally.

Question 16

What is a navigation drawer pattern?

Answer 16

Borrowed from mobile, the global navigation disappears in certain areas and is replaced with local navigation. The global navigation is only accessible when clicking a menu button (hamburger) to open a sliding drawer.