Chris Farnum leads a discussion at LA2M about Information Architecture - what is it, why it's important to marketers, and how it contributes to the process of creating great user experiences. He’ll introduce the fundamental concepts including site organization, labels, taxonomies, and navigation. He will also discuss the role IA plays in projects.

1. Introduction to Information Architecture in Web Design
Chris Farnum, Sr. Information Architect
LA2M – September 9, 2009

2. A Web site’s “Information Architecture” is the way it is
organized. Whether users are…
–looking for an answer
–finding something specific
–communicating
–being entertained
–completing a task
… the navigation, categories, links, and labels all contribute
to the user experience.
As an IA, I help make plans for Web sites that provide a
guide for designing and building them.
Definitions | What is IA? - Chris’ IA elevator pitch
Intro to IA - 2

3. Definitions | Information Environment
Business goals, brand,
strategy, technology,
politics, resources
Context
Content Users
Audience, tasks,
needs, info seeking
behavior, experience
Document types,
content objects,
volume, structure
Based on Rosenfeld and Morville – Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
Intro to IA - 3
IA

4. Definitions | The Information Architecture “Layer”
From The Elements of User
Experience by Jesse James Garret
IA is the layer
between
objectives and
page level
design
Intro to IA - 4

5. • Organization Systems How is content organized? By User Task,
Subject Category, Audience Type, Metaphor…
• Labeling Systems Links, buttons, labels, calls-to-action…
• Navigation Systems Sitewide navigation, local navigation, utility
navigation…
• Search Systems Site search interfaces, results pages, indexing…
• Thesauri, Controlled Vocabularies, and Metadata Systems of
terms used to organize and tag content
Elements of IA | What does the IA of a site include?
Intro to IA - 5
Based on Rosenfeld and Morville – Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

6. • Brand Sites
• E-commerce sites
• Product Selectors & Configurators
• Landing Pages
• E-mail Templates
• Rich Internet Applications
• Expandable Banner Ads
• Search Interfaces
• Extranets
• Intranets…
Types of Projects | What kinds need IA-thinking?
Intro to IA - 6

7. Customer Focus (good user exp. = good customer exp).
Cost of finding (customer service, time, clicks, precision).
Cost of not finding (lost visitors, lost sales, frustration).
Cost of development (time, budget, staff, scalability).
Measuring:
Web and Search Analytics, Usability Testing, Surveys, ROI
Value | Why is IA important in Web marketing?
Intro to IA - 7
Based on Rosenfeld and Morville – Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

8. IA Techniques | Blueprint or High Level IA

9. IA Techniques | Wireframe
Intro to IA - 9

10. IA Techniques | More…
Prototyping Create a paper prototype or a rough click-able
prototype to demonstrate to the internal team and for user testing.
User Research & Testing Find out how your users think and what
they need. See how they accomplish key tasks (or not).
Personas Describe your most important types of users and their
common tasks.
Functional Specifications Document user interface requirements
for the site including page types, page components, forms,
navigation…
Intro to IA - 10

11. IA Best Practices | A Few Key Concepts
Reusable Components Consistent page types and components
make the interface easier to use AND easier to develop.
Top Down vs. Bottom Up Good designs consider both the high
level view and from the most granular view of your content.
Don’t Let Users Feel Lost Site navigation should provide a
sense of where you are and where you can go (a la Instone’s
Navigation Stress Test).
Intro to IA - 11

12. Information Architect
Interaction Designer
User Experience Designer
Usability Specialist
Content Strategist
Business Analyst
Web Master
Product Manager
_____________ (insert title
here)
Job Titles | Do you need to be an IA to do IA?
something you do
vs.
something you are
Intro to IA - 12

13. Sources | Where Do I Learn How to Do IA?
Library Science
Human Computer
Interaction (HCI)
Project Experience
Information Architecture Institute (prof. group)
ASIST SIG-IA (prof. group)
The Information
Architecture Summit
IDEA Conference
boxesandarrows.com
Books
Rosenfeld & Morville,
Wodkte, JJ Garrett…
Intro to IA - 13

14. In closing…
Questions and Comments?
Download
This presentation is available online via Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/ChrisFarnum
Contact
Chris Farnum
Senior Information Architect
User Experience Consultant
___________ (insert title here)
Intro to IA - 14
crfarnum@yahoo.com
cfarnum@proquest.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/crfarnum
http://twitter.com/crfarnum