Organizing Content for Success: Taxonomies for the

Everyday User Part 2: User Experience Webinar Series

~ presented by Kristiana Burk

Laying a Foundation…

today > Taxonomies for the Everyday User

Digging Deeper: Upcoming Webinars Practical Personas Thematic Approach to Organizing Resources Search & Labels Web 2.0 and Beyond Layered Content Make Learning Fun

Remember that the User Matters …

They are the reason your job exists!There would be no service to provide if they weren’t using itEverything you do should be focused on their needs

Remember Where the User is Coming From…

“In the everyday world, we want to get on with the most important things in life, not spend our time deep in thought attempting to open a can of food or dial a telephone number”

~ Don Norman, 1988

Experiencing Information Overload…

- estimates in 2007 were over 28.7 billion websites - most websites contain hundreds or thousands of pages each- information coming at them from every angle on a daily basis- an abundance of information available but difficult to find the answer you need

Remember that the Everyday User Wants…

“something that feels warmer”

“looking for something clean, easy-to-use”

“simple, easy to find”

“prefer a design that gives me clear, broad categories with more specific sub-topics rather than individual items competing for attention”

“consistent, easy navigation from one topic to another”

“trustworthy, content backed by professionals”

Typical User Behavior…

- begins with a direct search (term or concept in mind)- berry-picking type of search, refine, search, browse, ask- typically transitions into a browse mode

learn more about searching and browsing behavior with Peter Morville at http://www.flickr.com/photos/morville/sets/72157604332865077

Is the organization of your guide(s) a help or obstacle?

we tend to think format first users tend to think topics

Consider entry points to your site…

LibGuides crawled by Google (search engine entry) or traditional entry through Home

Upon entry a user should…

- be able to quickly orient themselves- find what they are looking for within seconds- have something peak their interest / encourage browsing

a key tool for accomplishing this… Taxonomies

What Is a Taxonomy?

traditional: ‘technique of describing, naming and classifying organisms”

web world: ‘a collection of terms, generally hierarchical, that is used for both classification and navigation’

Definition pulled from: www.kmmagazine.com/xq/asp/sid.9A5D0B8D-6922-11D7-9D48-0508B44AB3A/articleid.E4F31EEC-FB65-413A-A24B-13AA6ACDD12D/qx/display.htm

What Is a Taxonomy?

It is the underlying framework or cornerstone for your guide

Steps to Practical Taxonomies

Ask Yourself… Take an Inventory Get Sticky Cluster & Label Test It, Prove It

#1Ask Yourself…

- Who are the target users (men, women, students, faculty, young adults, scientists, kids)- What motivates the search? - What words would be used to talk about or

reference this topic?- What kind of discovery mode might they be in?- What other resources or popular sites might they already use and how are those sites labeled and organized?- What is your purpose? Organize what you have or create ideal contextual resource?

#2Take an Inventory

- What content do you already have to work with and derive ideas from?- Reference courses of study, syllabuses, academic standards- What are top reference questions or popular topics?- What are top search terms and hot topics on not only your site but other popular / competitor sites- Go through content mapping process

#3Get Sticky

Begin Brainstorming Process- discover the power of Post-It Notes™- stream-of-consciousness activity- get out of your cubicle and go “hands-on”- looking for as much coverage on a topic as possible

Learn more with Kate Rutter’s “Become a Sticky Note Ninja: The Problem-Solving Power of Stickies” http://stickynoteninja.com/?page_id=3

Step One: Every person on the team writes down every term or phrase that comes to mind on the targeted topic. (typically 15-30 minutes)

Harriet Tubman

Underground railroad

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln

Slavery

Gettysburg

Bull Run

Abolitionists

Appomattox Surrender

Henry Clay Andrew Johnson

Battle of Shiloh

Anti-Trust Laws

Emancipation

Proclamation

Sam Davis

Step Two: Use resources from content inventory and user feedback and write down additional terms and phrases that come to mind on targeted topic (typically 15-30 minutes)

Harriet Tubman

Underground railroad

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln

Slavery

Gettysburg

Bull Run

Abolitionists

Appomattox Surrender

Henry Clay Andrew Johnson

Battle of Shiloh

Anti-Trust Laws

Emancipation

Proclamation

Sam Davis

Reconstruction

Mason-Dixon Line

Secession

Step Three: Visit other authoritative sources on topics for additional terms and phrases to populate (typically additional 10-20 minutes)

Harriet Tubman

Underground railroad

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln

Slavery

Gettysburg

Bull Run

Abolitionists

Appomattox Surrender

Henry Clay Andrew Johnson

Battle of Shiloh

Anti-Trust Laws

Emancipation

Proclamation

Sam Davis

Reconstruction

Mason-Dixon Line

Secession

Compromise of 1850

Battle of Lookout

Mountain

#4Cluster & Label

Start to Cluster & Group Terms- find natural connections between terms and phrases- group stickies together as makes sense- look for duplicates or cross-over connections

Tips & Guidelines- you’ll see terms that have traits in common or naturally fall into one category- cluster same terms in more than one place. End-users look from different angles- weed out repetitious words or terms- narrow Your clustering down further once you’ve done initial clusters

Step One: Look at the random collection of terms and phrases on individual stickies and begin to see natural groupings and clustering. Begin grouping like terms and concepts together.

Harriet Tubman

Underground railroad

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln

Slavery

Gettysburg

Bull Run

Abolitionists

Appomattox Surrender

Henry ClayAndrew Johnson

Battle of Shiloh

Anti-Trust Laws

Emancipation

Proclamation

Sam Davis

Reconstruction

Mason-Dixon LineSecession

Compromise of 1850

Battle of Lookout

Mountain

Step Two: Label your clusters. Write on a sticky a short term or phrase that will describe or summarize the group of terms you are working with. These labels become the labels of various levels in your hierarchy.

Underground railroad

Abraham Lincoln

Gettysburg

Bull RunAbolitionists

Appomattox Surrender

Henry Clay

Andrew Johnson

Battle of Shiloh

Emancipation

Proclamation

Battle of Lookout

Mountain

Slavery

Harriet Tubman

Battles &

Incidents

Union Leaders

Cluster Tips

Additional Guidelines & Ideas- usually don’t want to go more than 4 levels deep (users typically abandon browsing when more than 6 clicks involved)- recommend no more than 8 high-level categories- recommend no more than 10 sub-level categories- usually the higher the more general

Consider the Future- don’t box yourself in (if you can’t find at least 3 resources for a category you are probably too specific and can combine with another category

- leave room for growth over time

Labeling Tips

Guidelines & Ideas- be consistent (“&” or “and” / “see, hear, touch” or “seeing, hearing, touching”)- are your terms user-friendly??? cookery vs. cooking- short & sweet- consider search engine implications

Card-Sorting & Usability- use software like OptimalSort to determine the best labeling for your users - http://www.optimalsort.com/pages/default.html

- use tools like Googlefight, Hitwise, Omniture, Google Zeitgeist

#5Test It, Prove It

Check for Gaps- how user-friendly are the terms - any areas that seem to be missing / noticeable gaps- seek out or fill in missing content- organize labels in pattern (chronologically, alphabetically, logically)

Scavenger Hunt & User-Testing- pretend to be the end-user / use personas- try to access resources using your taxonomy by asking a series of questions about the content to see how many steps it takes to find it. (i.e. if I am Suzie elementary and I am looking for a website on clouds for my class presentation I would find it by …) - conduct simple usability testing – see usability.gov for basic test ideas

Taxonomies in LibGuides

Building Taxonomies in LibGuides- go 2-3 levels deep- take advantage of cross-referencing w/ URL link option- use modules on page as lower-level navigation- integrate copy guide function from other institutions

http://community.libguides.com or http://hsw.libguides.com - take advantage of what other libraries and HowStuffWorks are creating

- seamlessly integrate in navigation and content into your taxonomy - tweak content and navigation with tools (copy or linked pages/tabs)

Thank you!

Kristiana BurkChannel Director

404.760.4311 kburk@howstuffworks.com