What’s All This I Hear About Information “Architecture?”

InterLab 06

Joe Chervenak & Marsha LuevaneNational Renewable Energy Laboratory

What is Information Architecture (IA)?

IA Guru Lou Rosenfeld:

“The combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an information system.”

Translation

• Web site information architecture:– Organizing content at the site level– Developing a site navigation system– Determining labeling/wording– Making the site more usable

When Does IA Come Into Play?

• Creating new sites

• Undertaking redesigns

• Adding significant new chunks of content to an existing site

Who Are the Major Players?

• Users

• Site managers/owners

• Content creators

• Information architects

Users

• User behavior:– Are in a hurry– May not always know what they are looking

for– Don’t always come in via your home page– Get lost easily

Challenge of the Information Architect [1]

• Help users know– Where am I?– What’s here?– Where can I go?

Site Managers/Owners and Content Creators

• “Organize the site the way my organization is arranged.”

• “My content is unique, special.”

• “What’s the big deal, isn’t it just like print?”

• “Don’t mess with my content.”

Challenge of the Information Architect [2]

• Getting site managers and content creators to consider the user

The How of IA

• Consider the primary audience

• Outline the content

• Organize the content

• Provide appropriate navigation/labeling

Consider the Audience

• Who’s your primary audience?

• What are they looking for?

• What tasks do they want to perform?

• What information do you have about them?

Outline the Content

• New sites– Create an outline of the content

• Redesigns– Inventory existing content

What stays, what goes, what are the gaps?

– Identify new content

Organize the Site Content

• The content drives the architecture

• Determine what content bins make sense for users given the content

• Determine appropriate order to present the content bins

Labeling/Wording

– Use terminology users are familiar with• “Jobs,” not “open positions” or

“employment opportunities”

– For the same content, use the same wording across the site

Navigation

• Content -- organized into labeled bins, in logical order -- makes up the navigation system [example]

Challenge of the Information Architect [3]

• Transcend today’s deadline and create – Holistic scheme for the site – Consistent navigation– Standard terminology

Additional Tips

• Establish a process• Review and adjust IA: content changes

throughout the process • Maintain and promote a list of standard

terminology• Bring in site managers and content creators

by educating them as you go along

Another Definition of IA

• “The process of structuring and organizing information so that it’s easier for users to find and for owners to maintain.”Lou Rosenfeld [link]

Disclaimer and Government License

This work has been authored by Midwest Research Institute (MRI) under Contract No. DE-AC36-99GO10337 with the U.S. Department of Energy (the “DOE”). The United States Government (the “Government”) retains and the publisher, by accepting the work for publication, acknowledges that the Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for Government purposes. 

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