Communication - Harder Than It Looks

Our professor showed this two minute clip on YouTube of a guy attempting to explain what an Information Architect is and does. It's a funny video. The woman keeps thinking that any other job he mentions in his explanation is what he does until he gives up and says, "Sure, why not?" to her last guess.

But let's be honest here there were problems on both sides of that conversation.

It starts out OK. She asks what he does and he says he's an Information Architect. Most people are after your job title when asking that question so no problem here. But once she asked if he was "like an architect, but" it was clear she had no clue what an IA does. At that point he should have given the simplest and most complete answer possible. Again, I like the one given by the The Information Architecture Institute since it doesn't use any jargon.

Instead, he only gives bits of information that don't really answer the question. She then starts guessing at what he does. When he does explain what an IA does he uses a bunch of terms she doesn't understand. So she guesses again and he gives up.

For her part, it makes absolutely no sense to guess that he does any other job he happens to mention. The "do you work in fashion" part came across like she was purposefully being difficult. However, I'm sure she felt the same about him when he said he isn't a designer and then described his job in terms of designing something.

I bring this up because one of the things that has been brought up multiple times in our classes is that IT communicates poorly with the rest of the business. I think that this works as an example even if he isn't actually in IT.

Week 2: Information Architecture

So, What is It?

The Information Architecture Institute has three definitions for information architecture. For this post this one is the most useful: The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites, intranets and all other organizational information repositories to help people find and manage information.

It's the job of an Information Architect to make sure that the information is arranged and labeled in a web site in a way that makes sense. This refers not just to information on individual pages but to where those pages are located in relation to each other. For example, a bank web site might put checking and savings information on separate pages but could have those pages grouped together under the heading of Deposit Information.

This job is important because if done poorly (or not at all) then visitors to the site won't be able to find what they're looking for. If you have a favorite website that you've never had to use the search engine on then thank the person who took on the role of Information Architect.

Persuasive Information Architecture

So I was looking for a site with some tips for IA. I expected to be writing about findability and/or usability but then I found this: Persuasion and Information Architecture: 5 tips

Even though IA is about organization, usability, and helping the user do what they want it can also help the business get the user to think and do what they want. What's key is that many of the rules for helping the user and helping the business overlap. While there are times where they will conflict, user and business goals are often the same. I want to buy a book from Amazon and Amazon wants me to buy a book.

Amazon prefers that I buy the Kindle and buy Kindle books instead of paperbacks which means that it shows up first in the left hand menu but the site doesn't prevent me from finding other kinds of books. The conflict does not have to be a deal breaker.

If the business doesn't see the value in Information Architecture then describing the benefits in terms of persuasion would be more helpful than talking about usability. When discussing usability you have to explain why it helps the user and why helping the user helps the business. Putting it in terms of persuasion goes straight to business goals. Some businesses may not appreciate how much their needs and customer needs align and this skips having to convince them otherwise.

Design with Intent

This isn't strictly about IA but the article above linked to it and I found it interesting. It's a set of cards with patterns for influencing behavior through design. It says that the Architectural Lens section "can also be applied in interaction and product design, even in software or services". I think I can find an example for each.

Angles
The example given is the sloping top on cigarette bins which prevent people from leaving trash on the lid. This might be stretching it but my example is timeouts for login forms. You don't want users to accidentally leave their login information in a form if they leave without actually submitting it.

Converging & Diverging
This is done on websites all the time with different logins for different types of users: Students vs Teachers, Business vs Consumer banking, and so forth. Business web sites also make sure that you'll end up on the page to purchase their product/service whether you decided to view the demo, view a feature list, or read reviews. All those paths lead to a "Buy Now" page.

Conveyor belts
The web site equivalent would be Quick Links.

Feature deletion
This one is self-explanatory.

Hiding things
Many web sites will put some settings in an Advanced Features section to prevent users from accidentally breaking things.

Mazes
While you shouldn't make your site a maze (unless that's the point) you probably won't get to the free version of a service or product without first seeing the benefits of the paid version.

Pave the cowpaths
Finding the paths users usually follow and making those paths easier is in the definition of Information Architecture.

Positioning
Same as above.

Roadblock
Many of our clients are required by their auditors to warn their users about any link that takes them away from their web site. We sometimes call them speed bumps. For example, take a look at First American Bank and Trust and see what happens if you click on any of the logos at the bottom of the page.

Segmentation & spacing
Monthly upload limits on free accounts, like the free accounts on Flickr.

Simplicity
IA is all about making the most important tasks simple. 1-click ordering on Amazon would be an example of this.

Fall 2010 - Week 1: Interact with Web Standards Chapter Summary

Chapter 5 – Writing for the Web

The chapter begins with how people read websites and how that differs from how people read printed media. We're told what bad and good web writing does with a brief description of SEO. The chapter then gives us a list of tools to organize and style content. A list of web writing tips and tips for keeping the content updated finish the chapter.

The Writer

Writing for the web is trickier than you might think. It requires having multiple skills: the ability to write creatively and on technical subjects, organize content into categories from multiple sources, balance user needs and business goals, and so on. A successful web writer must understand what the user wants and how they will use the web site.

The User

People do not use web sites the same way that they read books. Users go to a site to do specific tasks. They scan pages for relevant information and will leave if they can't find it quickly. Visually impaired users do the same with the aid of special tools. The user will also interact with a site via tools like forms or chat if available.

The Content

The content should be "useful, usable, engaging, and findable". The text should be descriptive but not wordy; personable, but not sloppy. The style should be consistent. It should aid findability for both users and search engines without sacrificing readability. Whatever is most important to the user should be easiest to find on the page.

The Tools

There are several things a web writer should use:

• Copy deck – All of the text for the web site


• Content audit/inventory – A list of all the web pages in a site, their URLs, and any notes about its current state
  
• Style guide – Describes how the text should look, its tone, voice, etc.
  
• Wireframes – A layout of the web page
  
• Sitemap – The hierarchy of all of the web pages in the site
  

The Tips

Erin Anderson lists ten tips for writing for the web. Start with the conclusion. Begin sentences with verbs. Be brief but be specific. Keep the sentence structure simple. Make the text easy to scan by breaking up text into short paragraphs and lists. Use short, concise headings. Headings and links should be accurate. Have the content reviewed by someone knowledgeable. Get writing hints from other good web sites.

Keep the content updated by scheduling regular audits and updates. Put people in charge of the content for specific pages or sections.