Content, Visual and Navigation Copyright © 2004 by Prentice HallMcCracken & Ayres 1

1. Content Organization Content organization concerns with the way information is organized into groups It is important for the interface designer to understand how information should be organized such a way that will ease user’s task in finding it Copyright © 2004 by Prentice HallMcCracken & Ayres 2

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall You have a mass of content that you want your users to be able to find Graphic overview: scheme and structure Fact 1 Fact 13 Fact 12 Fact 11 Fact 10 Fact 9 Fact 8 Fact 5 Fact 7 Fact 6 Fact 3 Fact 4 Fact 2 Fact 14 Fact 15 Fact 16 Fact 17 Fact 18 Fact 19 Fact 20 McCracken & Ayres 3

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall How to Organize so Users Can Find Things? First, group related things, forming the groups in terms of the way users think. Fact 13 Fact 8 Fact 14 Fact 15 Fact 19 Fact 10 Fact 2 Fact 17 Fact 12 Fact 5 Fact 3 Fact 4 Fact 1 Fact 11 Fact 9 Fact 7 Fact 6 Fact 16 Fact 18 Fact 20 McCracken & Ayres 4

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall This is an organizational scheme Now give names to the groups, or have the users do that Fact 13 Fact 8 Fact 14 Fact 15 Fact 19 Fact 10 Fact 2 Fact 17 Fact 12 Fact 5 Fact 3 Fact 4 Fact 1 Fact 11 Fact 9 Fact 7 Fact 6 Fact 16 Fact 18 Fact 20 Group D Group C Group A Group B Group E McCracken & Ayres 5

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Organizational Schemes Familiar in everyday life: Phone book Appointment book Shopping mall diagram with store locations McCracken & Ayres 6

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall These are exact organizational schemes Alphabetical: phone book, for example Chronological: appointment book, for example Geographical: shopping mall diagram, for example McCracken & Ayres 7

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Not always possible Where can I find sardines packed in water, with no salt added? In the canned fish section? In the dietetic foods section? McCracken & Ayres 8

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Supermarket is an example of an ambiguous organizational scheme “Ambiguous” often has a negative connotation, which is not intended here. We use it to describe organizational situations where there is more than one reasonable way to group things. We identify four types of ambiguous organizational schemes: Topical Task-oriented Audience-specific Metaphor-driven hybrid McCracken & Ayres 9

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Topical organizational scheme Organizes content by subject Examples: Library subject index Encyclopedia Chapter titles in textbooks Website home pages (usually combined with other schemes as well) McCracken & Ayres 10

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Task-Oriented Organizational Scheme Organizes content by what user wants to do. Desktop software applications such as word processors and spreadsheets providevfamiliar examples. Collections of individual actions are organized under task-oriented menus such as Edit,Insert, and Format. McCracken & Ayres 11

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Task-oriented organizational scheme Example: Autobytel.com McCracken & Ayres 12

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Audience-specific organizational scheme Useful when there are two or more distinct user groups User may navigate to appropriate page and bookmark it Audience-specific schemes can be open or closed. An open scheme will allow members of one audience to access the content intended for other audiences. A closed scheme will prevent members from moving between audience-specific sections. A closed scheme may be appropriate if subscription fees or security issues are involved. McCracken & Ayres 13

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Audience-specific organizational scheme Example: Bank of Montreal Kelompo k audiens berbeda McCracken & Ayres 14

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Metaphor-driven organizational scheme Shows group by a visual metaphor. Not many examples, because it is difficult to find metaphors that will work with all users. Possible example: pet supply store: McCracken & Ayres 15

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall See the problem? This is a hamster, but what if your user thinks it’s a rat, and hates rats? The goal of metaphor schemes is to relate a system to concepts that the user is already familiar with. Currently, the most pervasive metaphor is the desktop, folder, and file system used by the majority of graphical user interfaces. McCracken & Ayres 16

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Hybrid organizational scheme Combines multiple organizational schemes Quite common, but must be done with care to avoid confusion Example: Nordstrom McCracken & Ayres 17

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Hybrid organizational scheme example McCracken & Ayres 18

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Database organizational structures Database organizational structure provides a bottom-up view, whereas a hierarchy provides a top-down Both have their place In a database structure the user fills in data, and is then taken directly to the right page. One click, when it works ideally. McCracken & Ayres 19

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Database example: selecting a car model McCracken & Ayres 20