January 28, 2014

IA LESSONS LEARNED 2013!

Information Architecture Insights!Presented by Jessica DuVerneay @undrstndng

HI I’M JESSIE!I WORK AT TUG!NICE TO MEET YOU!

WHO IS TUG?!WE ARE INFORMATION ARCHITECTS!

PEOPLE EMPOWER PEOPLE!

Founded in March 2011,The Understanding Group uses information architecture !to plan digital places that are:

•  useful, •  scalable, •  and delightful.

We have the most experienced team of information architects in the world. "

WHO !WHAT & WHY!MORE!!

#1: LET’S TALK!ABOUT PLACES!MADE OF !INFORMATION !

I LEARNED THIS FROM!

Abby Covert!@abby_the_ia"abbytheia.com"

INFORMATION ENVIRONMENTS!

INFORMATION ENVIRONMENTS!

WHY SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT PLACES?!

We don’t create websites or aps - we create places made of information: “Sign In” - “Log out” - “Go to the Check out”""Consider (and be intentional) about how language, content, and the organization of information makes different places""Need to talk about places made of information in context with the other places our digital projects will be existing""Practitioners should talk about it with one another and with the people we work for and with""""

WHY? !Places

inform who we are!

ARCHITECT BEFORE YOU BUILD!

WHAT TYPE OF PLACE IS THIS? !

WHAT TYPE OF PLACE DO WE NEED? !

Doctor’s Office"

Informal Chat Room"

Woman’s Magazine"

Trusted Friend’s Living

Room"

Web MD"

Beauty Counter"

ARCHITECT BEFORE YOU BUILD!

ARCHITECT BEFORE YOU BUILD!

SO YOU BUILD THE RIGHT PLACE!

NOT THE WRONG PLACE!

HOW DO WE DO THIS? !

Author: Abby Covert, “Making Sense of Place”, Keynote Talk, Midwest UX 2013"

!TALK ABOUT THE PLACES WE MAKE!

!!!

ARCHITECT BEFORE WE BUILD - DETERMINE & DISCUSS PLACENESS!

BEFORE UX + UI!

MORE LEARNING!Abby Covert, Midwest UX Talk, 2013:"http://www.slideshare.net/AbbyCovert/making-sense-of-place-midwestux-2013-keynote""Andrew Hinton, Midwest UX Talk, 2013:"http://understandinggroup.com/2013/10/language-and-place-midwestux-2013/""Christina Wodke, Midwest UX Talk, 2013:"http://www.slideshare.net/cwodtke/places-make-us""Dan Klyn, World Usability Day Talk, Bristol, 2013:"http://understandinggroup.com/2013/11/wud-2013/"""""

#2: SOMETIMES !BOTTOM UP !IS THE WAY !TO GO!

I LEARNED THIS FROM!

Dan Cooney!@dcooney"

TOP DOWN!

It’s “…like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”!!

- E.L.Doctrow"

BOTTOM UP!

In instances where resources are limited, scope is not yet defined, or the strategy is not yet firm, consider creating purpose-driven controlled vocabularies or smaller section specific taxonomies. !!!Eventually, they will lend themselves to being woven into in a comprehensive, purpose-driven master taxonomy, when the structure actually needs to be there.!!

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MORE LEARNING!

Jessica DuVerneay, Purpose Driven Taxonomy, blog post, 2013:"http://understandinggroup.com/2013/10/creating-purpose-driven-taxonomy/""DuVerneay & Soranzo, “Taming Taxonomy” Workshop, IA Summit 2014:"http://2014.iasummit.org/taming-taxonomy-a-practical-intro-2/""Heather Hedden, Accidental Taxonomist Blog:"http://accidental-taxonomist.blogspot.com""Taxonomy Bootcamp, Conference, 2014:"http://www.taxonomybootcamp.com/2014/""""""

#3: IGNORANCE IS !AN ASSET!

WHO I LEARNED THIS FROM!

Dan Klyn!@danklyn"

EAMES!

WHY SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT PLACES?!

"We don’t create websites or aps - we create places made of information – "•  “Sign In” "•  “Log out”"•  “Go to the Check out”""We as practitioners should be including it in our talks with one another""Furthermore we should be including it in conversations with the people we work for and with""We need to understand how language, content, and the organization of information makes different places, and how these places inform who we are""Need to talk about places made of information in context with the other places our digital projects will be existing""

“Sell your expertise and you have a limited repertoire. Sell your ignorance and you have an unlimited repertoire. !!He was selling his ignorance and his desire to learn about a subject. The journey of not knowing to knowing was his work.”!

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-  Richard Saul Wurman "on Eames"

BUT, BUT, I’M UNICORN…!

WHEN UNICORN-ISM BECOMES DETRIMENTAL TO !UNDERSTANDING, LET’S AGREE TO BE PEOPLE !

!BE WILLING TO SAY “I DON’T KNOW” !

!!!

ASK THE DUMB QUESTIONS!

MORE LEARNING!

Dan Klyn, UX Week Talk, 2013:"http://wildlyappropriate.com/2013/10/14/uxweek/""Eames: The Architect & The Painter, Documentary:"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/charles-ray-eames-the-architect-and-the-painter/watch-the-full-documentary-film/1950/""Shawn Borsky, “Stop Talking About Unicorns”, blog:"https://medium.com/design-ux/6874241de5c0"" """

PHOTO CREDITS!TARGET STORE IMAGES"•  http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/06/04/us-usa-retail-idUSTRE5533GY20090604"•  http://mindfuldesignconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/target-store-logo.jpg"•  http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/17/us-usa-economy-recovery-idUSTRE52G56B20090317"•  http://rashikapatel.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/target-store-map.jpg""TAXONOMY OF PLACE IMAGES (SHARED WITH PERMISSION)"•  http://www.slideshare.net/AbbyCovert/making-sense-of-place-midwestux-2013-keynote"

BOTTOM UP"•  http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7GipERIrgWM/UPNisLeBOeI/AAAAAAAAEso/3pPDsic86hM/s1600/one%2Bheadlight.jpg""IGNORANCE"•  http://architectsandartisans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/eames/eames_model.jpg"•  http://www.hermanmiller.com/content/dam/hermanmiller/page_assets/products/Eames_Wire_Chairs/

hero_eames_wire_1.jpg"•  http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/eames_fastcompany.jpg"•  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/files/2013/07/richard-saul-wurman1.jpg"•  http://big-kid.com/90-thickbox_default/magical-unicorn-mask.jpg""The rest of the images are shared with permission of TUG and TUG’s clients. !

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!!!!!THANKS! !!!!! @UNDRSTNDNG!!