What’s All This I Hear About Information “Architecture?” InterLab 06 Joe Chervenak & Marsha Luevane National 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]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]link

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