Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization User-Centered Website Development: A Human-Computer Interaction Approach Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Daniel D. McCracken City College of New York Rosalee J. Wolfe DePaul University With a foreword by: Jared M. Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering PowerPoint slides by Dan McCracken, with thanks to Rosalee Wolfe and S. Jane Fritz, St. Joseph’s College Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Credits Slide 17: Courtesy of autobytel.com. Slide 19: Courtesy of the Bank of Montreal. Slide 23: Courtesy of Nordstrom, Inc. Slide 31: ©2002 General Motors Corporation. Used with permission GM Media Archives. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization 4. Content Organization In this chapter you will learn about: Organizational schemes: classification systems for organizing content into groups Organizational structures: defining the relationships among the groups Research and interview techniques: How to discover a way to organize things so people can find what they want Controlled vocabularies and thesauri A central chapter in development of HCI as applied to website design. Chapters 2 and 3 laid necessary groundwork for it; Chapters 5 and 6 build on it. A key idea: how do we discover the users “categories”? That’s a very abstract way of asking, “How would my user group things, and under what names?” The issue, of course, is what we put on the homepage to give the user a sense that when he clicks on a button that action has a high probability of taking him closer to his goal. Real life example. Two students in my course did a final project intended for eventual commercial use; it was on training in automotive electronics for mechanics. In user testing two of their subjects could not find a course that was one of the tasks. Problem? My students had listed it under “Advanced Courses.” That’s how it seemed to them, knowing the subject matter. That was their category, but it wasn’t the user’s category. They were amazed that user testing had turned up a very concrete instance of this abstruse-sounding concept. Nice validation of the course from students! Look for stories like this, to get students to see why the chapter is important. Or demo real websites that are hard to use because the designers didn’t take this issue into account. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

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

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

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

Next: how do the groups relate to each other? Chapter 4: Content Organization Next: how do the groups relate to each other? Perhaps in a hierarchy: Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

How do the groups relate to each other, continued Chapter 4: Content Organization How do the groups relate to each other, continued Perhaps with hyperlinks: Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Those are two organizational structures Chapter 4: Content Organization Those are two organizational structures Remember: A scheme groups similar things together A structure shows how those groups are related End of introductory overview; now let’s get back to the details of organizational schemes and organizational structures And how we discover how users think: how they see the groupings This scheme/structure distinction just has to be memorized. “Structure” conveys the idea of the relationship among things, so that makes some sense. “Scheme” doesn’t say anything to me. But once you can remember that the key words and “scheme” and “structure,” and that the latter means group relationships, then by elimination “scheme” must mean how groups are formed. Sorry if this sounds too elementary to need comment. I’ve had to put some effort into getting it into long-term memory, and I can certify that students have trouble getting it into short-term memory. And we do have to have the two words clear, for sensible discussion of the rest of the chapter. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

4.2 Organizational Schemes Chapter 4: Content Organization 4.2 Organizational Schemes Familiar in everyday life: Phone book Appointment book Shopping mall diagram with store locations You don’t ask a user, “What are your categories?” of course. Nobody would know what you were talking about. Later in the chapter we study how to get at that information. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

These are exact organizational schemes Chapter 4: Content Organization These are exact organizational schemes Alphabetical: phone book, for example Chronological: appointment book, for example Geographical: shopping mall diagram, for example Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization 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? Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Supermarket is an example of an ambiguous organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization 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, as with the low-sodium tomato soup. We identify four types of ambiguous organizational schemes: Topical Task-oriented Audience-specific Metaphor-driven Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Topical organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization 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) Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Task-Oriented Organizational Scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization Task-Oriented Organizational Scheme Organizes content by what user wants to do. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Task-oriented organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization Task-oriented organizational scheme Example: Autobytel.com Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Audience-specific organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization Audience-specific organizational scheme Useful when there are two or more distinct user groups User may navigate to appropriate page and bookmark it Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Audience-specific organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization Audience-specific organizational scheme Example: Bank of Montreal Specific audiences Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Metaphor-driven organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization 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: This slide may raise the question of how ones distinguishes an icon from a metaphor. It’s a fine line. In literary usage, a metaphor suggests a comparison: “My love is a red, red rose.” If you tried to turn that into a visual metaphor, I guess you’d put up a picture of rose and hope your users understood that to mean “my significant other.” Attempts to do this on websites have a very bad track record. See Figures 6.13 and 6.21 for an example of how well-intentioned metaphors/icons can utterly fail to convey meaning—even when devised by graphic design experts for a homogeneous audience. All that being said, are these metaphors? (They are not in the book, by the way.) In this context, I don’t mean the graphic of a dog to stand for “my best friend”—I mean it to say, “Click here and you’ll get to the page for dog stuff.” In the book we don’t spend major time on this kind of issue. You can find a literature on it in a place like the SIGCHI bibliography; people do worry about it. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization See the problem? This is a hamster, but what if your user thinks it’s a rat, and hates rats? Anyway the click-art identification says it’s a hamster. I say it’s a rat, and I hate it. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Hybrid organizational scheme Chapter 4: Content Organization Hybrid organizational scheme Combines multiple organizational schemes Quite common, but must be done with care to avoid confusion Example: Nordstrom Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Hybrid organizational scheme example Chapter 4: Content Organization Hybrid organizational scheme example Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

4.3 Organizational Structures Chapter 4: Content Organization 4.3 Organizational Structures Review: Organizational schemes create groups Organizational structures define the relations between groups One more time! Ask for examples, for review. We need this concept, but the language is unfamiliar. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Types of organizational structures Chapter 4: Content Organization Types of organizational structures Hierarchy Hypertext Database Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Hierarchical organizational structure Chapter 4: Content Organization Hierarchical organizational structure Structuring by rank or level A tree, in computer science terms Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

An organization chart is a hierarchy Chapter 4: Content Organization An organization chart is a hierarchy President Marketing Research Manufacturing Distribution A B C D E Etc. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Definitions Breadth of a hierarchy: the number of links available at each level Depth of a hierarchy: the number of levels Broad shallow hierarchies offer many choices at each level Narrow deep hierarchies require many clicks to get to the bottom level Users prefer broad shallow hierarchies Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Hypertext organizational structures Chapter 4: Content Organization Hypertext organizational structures Almost always combined with other structures Consists of adding links to a page Hard to find a commercial website that does not use hypertext Hypertext may be relatively new as a part of GUI navigation, but from another standpoint it is one of the intellectual foundations on which the Web was built. See the brief history section at the beginning of the Appendix, and in particular look at the 1945 paper by Vannevar Bush, “As We May Think.” Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Database organizational structures Chapter 4: Content Organization 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. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Database example: selecting a car model Chapter 4: Content Organization Database example: selecting a car model Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Controlled vocabulary Chapter 4: Content Organization Controlled vocabulary Predetermined set of terms that describe a specific domain There are no synonyms Only one term describes a concept Can help combat the ambiguity of English Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Thesaurus Contains Synonyms Broader terms Narrower terms Variants Used in conjunction with a controlled vocabulary, makes searching more effective Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

4.5 Research and Interview Techniques Chapter 4: Content Organization 4.5 Research and Interview Techniques Problem: how do you know what your users’ categories are? Will they look for a sweater under Winter Wear or under Men’s Clothing? What do they expect to find under “About Us”? What can you put on the home page for a college that will lead most directly to the tuition? You don’t know! Not until you ask your users . . . . . . who, of course, have no idea what you mean by “What are your categories?” Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Card sorting provides an answer Chapter 4: Content Organization Card sorting provides an answer Devise a list of about 40 questions that a user might have Write each question on a card; number cards on back Ask each user to sort the cards into piles, where the cards in each pile seem related to each other Ask the user to give a name to each pile Do this with ten or more users Do statistical analysis of the clustering in the groups It would take a whole PowerPoint presentation to show the details of card sorting. We can’t do that here. That is not to minimize the importance of the subject. Doing a card sorting homework is a great way to get students involved in learning about users. Forces them to go out and talk to people, a skill that generally needs development. Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Cluster analysis Can be done “be eyeball,” just looking at the piles for patterns Much better: use cluster analysis software See the text’s companion website to download CardZort, by Jorge Toro of DePaul University Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Chapter 4: Content Organization Summary In this chapter you learned about: Organizational schemes: classification systems for organizing content into groups: Exact: Alphabetical, Chronological, Geographical Ambiguous: Topical, Task-oriented, Audience-specific, metaphor-driven Organizational structures: defining the relationships among the groups: Hierarchy, Hypertext, Database Controlled vocabularies and thesauri Card sorting Chapter 4: Content Organization Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall Copyright © 2004 by Prentice Hall