information architecture

Like any relatively new field of study Information Architecture is still trying to define itself. Is it a practice in and of itself? Or is it/should it be part of a broader field that uses other tools and produces additional artifacts? The IA Summit endeavored to create a dialog around what this practice can actually encompass when considering users' interactions with information. The summit itself intimated at our need to begin bridging the gap between traditional IA (links and pages) and the burgeoning social and semantic web (contexts and connections). First, the theme of the summit was "Expanding Our Horizons," suggesting the practice look beyond those tools and techniques we've come to know and love (hi sitemaps).

In "How to Create Effective Personas for Your Projects, Part 1" I wrote about the three main components of effective personas: A name, a face, and an ecology (biographical data, lifestyle, and preferences). Creating personas that are a reflection of real people helps us as web designers and developers to empathize with our end users and more easily consider needs, goals, and priorities that may be different than our own.

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." -Oscar Wilde I don't know how to say it any more plainly than this: Creating personas is important. The persona is so important because it affects so many other pieces of the project -- discovery, design, QA, and even search engine optimization. A persona is the answer to the question "who are we doing all this work for?". What you know about him or her will inform your choices about how your site will be found, how it will look and how it will function. Budgeting for personas is always time and money well spent.

Website Redesign Glossary - Entry 5 Breadcrumb: An element on a web page (usually directly below the page title) showing the click path a user traveled to arrive at the current page. For example: Home > About Us > Our Staff Usually the terms are active links, which enable the user to retrace their click path (or skip back several clicks). Breadcrumbs, especially in deep sites with multiple levels of navigation, improve usability because they help users understand where they are now as well as the overall structure of the site, and navigate back to the pages they've visited. The term "breadcrumb" comes from the trail Hansel and Gretel left to try to find their way back home.

Website Redesign Glossary - Entry 4 Related Content: Content that is related to the main topic featured on the page. These links may be manually determined (by the content editor) or may be populated by the content management system based on predefined tags (e.g. a particular issue or region). Links to Related Content are often displayed on a narrow column to the right of the main body copy on the page. The idea is "If you are interested in the article on this page, you may want to read additional articles on similar subjects." This is in contrast to "Read More" which usually refers to "reading more" of the article you are currently reading, by going to a page with the full article.

Every once in a while it's good to review the basics and yesterday I virtually attended a website usability presentation given by NTen. Using three simple criteria they reviewed the websites of various not-for-profit organizations to deomonstrate how some simple changes could potentially have a positive impact on the site and, more importantly, online donations.

Here's the start of a subjective Usability Glossary. Information Architecture. Think of it this way: You are building a community center. You want to make sure to build enough bathrooms to accommodate everyone, that the meeting room for seniors is on the ground floor for maximum accessibility, that you put the computer room on the side of the building with the least light. The Information Architect designs the "blueprints" for this virtual "community center", a place that will become the foundation for your community to gather.

I WANT YOU TO READ MORE The CivicActions team is in the process of redesigning our website at this very moment. In my role as information architect, I am helping to design the site's navigation and page structure so that users can meet their goals. Here are some sample scenarios:

• A potential client wants to find a savvy web consulting firm to transform their site and increase their audience and fundraising base.
• A job-seeker wants to find a cool place to work.
• A CivicActions team member wants to be sought after in their area of expertise, and more broadly, wants to express their ideas and get feedback from creative, brilliant people.

Click on the tiny Read more link on the far right side of the next line.

"I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion." Themistocles (527 BC - 460 BC)

Attached you'll find the latest revision of "my" IA presentation at DrupalCamp Vancouver 2008. This presentation has been evolving since DrupalConBarcelona.