INFM 700: Session 9

The Real World: Software, Business and Process Issues

Paul JacobsThe iSchoolUniversity of Maryland

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

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Today’s Topics Overview: Information Architecture in the Real

World

Software Tools Content management systems Portals Others (storefronts, personalization, . . .)

Business Issues

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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IA in the “Real World” What is the Real World?

Anywhere where our work affects profits, social justice, public service, organizational efficiency, …

Companies, universities, nonprofits, government services, …

Almost anywhere but here! (Not class, not research)

What’s the same (between the Real World and our in-class “textbook” experience) Fundamentals (concepts, web technology) Most of the methods (e.g. organization/navigation, card

sort, blueprints, wireframes, …)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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IA in the “Real World” (cont’d) What is different?

Organizational issues (esp., but not limited, to politics) Money (sometimes it’s there, sometimes not) Timelines and time pressures Diversity of backgrounds, views, ages, etc. (with

respect to technology) More emphasis on getting it done, often less on

novelty/leading edge

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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How Does This Affect IA? Organizations

Remember “information ecology” – content, users, context

Web sites reflect organizational strategy, culture, and values

Stakeholders need to be identified, included Approval process (e.g. business case, ROI) Legacy systems, predetermined choices

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Refresher (from eBay Study)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Time & Money Most organizations are highly budget-driven

Skilled labor is a precious commodity

That said, people are sometimes easier to come by than capital (“fixed” cost vs. incremental)

Usually projects involve a mix of vendors, consultants, staff, but mix can be skewed (by budget, politics)

“Twice as long and twice as much” mantra – little reward for optimism in the real world

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Working with Different Groups Explaining technical concepts, benefits to non-

technical people

Embracing marketing

Tolerating “bean counting”

Managing the “FUD” factor (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Software Tools: Overview Maybe the most important decision you make

Trends in the industry Increasing complexity Consolidation Interoperability (e.g., objects, XML)

Key IA software tools Back-end databases Content management systems Portals “Middleware” Personalization, other utilities

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Software Tools (Survey)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

Software products used to perform IA work:

Automated Categorization (16.2 %)Search Engines (56.4%)Thesaurus Management (19.7%)Portal or Enterprise Knowledge Platform (37.6%)Content Management Systems (65.8%)Web Analytics/Tracking (62.4%)Diagramming Software (79.5%)Prototyping Tools (70.9%)User Research and Testing (not included in survey)

M&R, p. 355, also on line:http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/research/survey_3_software_for_ia.php

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Software Tools (Survey)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

Software products used most to perform IA work:

26.5%: Visio 11.0% Excel 10.1% Word 8.0% PowerPoint

http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/research/survey_3_software_for_ia.php

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Software Tools: Apples & Oranges Tools used “behind the scenes” in IA, site design

Diagramming, prototyping, research, etc. Visio, OmniGraffe, Survey Monkey, Dreamweaver,

Websort, …

Platforms and key components of sites Search engines, thesaurus, categorization Content management, portals Databases (why aren’t they in search results?)

Other site management tools Analytics (e.g. WebTrends), SEO

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Web Content Management

Helps organize, maintain, deliver web pages Storage, tagging, version control and maintenance Dynamic page creation (usually from a database) Other features, such as advanced layout,

personalization

Products and vendors Interwoven (now part of Autonomy) – LiveSite,

TeamSite, Metatagger EMC Documentum Vignette Microsoft CMS Open Source (Drupal, Joomla, Plone)

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Example: Vignette

Teaser “Our integrated Web content management, portal and collaboration

products and solutions create the backbone for online interaction that is vibrant, collective and dynamic. We help companies connect with their audiences online in ways that are personal, social, transactional and available across multiple channels.”

Example case study: Houston Community College (www.hccs.edu)

“After exploration and assessment, the cross-functional team set streamlining enrollment as its first and primary aim. An error-free and efficient process would go a long way to impress current and potential students.

Vignette's Content Management and Portal software would enable HCCS to:

Support a worldwide brand through Web-standard style management

Dramatically increase the number of business owners managing their own content through decentralized content management

Support a framework to which content can be added over time while maintaining a student-centric navigation and content experience

Support HCCS's business processes and changes to those processes in a dynamic Web environment ”

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Portals

Like CMS, also integrates with other functionality Roles, locations, further customization Integration with legacy databases and systems

Products and vendors Microsoft Sharepoint IBM Websphere Oracle PlumTree

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Example: IBM WebSphere

Teaser:

“Web portals allow partners, employees and customers to chose their user experience, with personalized applications based on role, context, actions, location, preferences and team collaboration needs. IBM WebSphere Portal software provides a composite application or business mashup framework and the advanced tooling needed to build flexible, SOA-based solutions, as well as the unmatched scalability required by any size

organization.”

Example case study (see also http://www.demos.ibm.com/solutions/portal/ )

“By adopting the SOA approach using WebSphere Business Modeler, IBM Process Server and IBM WebSphere Integration Developer, there is no application or information that we cannot reach." - Fred Nay, Director of Computing Services, Ball State University

IA & The Real World

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M&R on Portals

IA & The Real World

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Business Issues

“The vision of seamless, intuitive access to all enterprise and third-party content independent of geography, ownership, and format is compelling and completely unrealized. These tools claim to do everything. Make sure you know what they do well.”

M&R, p. 358

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Other Software

Thesaurus management Help build custom lexicons, taxonomies, controlled

vocabularies Examples: MultiTes, DataHarmony

"I have been searching for a thesaurus management tool that would aid me in the development of multiple taxonomies within a single structure and export in XML. When I researched the market, I saw MultiTes recommended more than any other package. After reviewing its price structure and available tutorial, I was sold." Lydia Bauer Content Librarian H&R Block

“I've been using MultiTes 7.1 for several years to create thesauri for my journal indexes and have found it quite useful. I just started to use the new release, MultiTes 2005 Pro, and everything from data entry to reports, including output in HTML or XML, and importing of text files is much simpler and more intuitive. It's definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for thesaurus software.” Carolyn Weaver Weaver Indexing Service www.weaverindexing.com

Others

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Business Issues (Early On) Many mentioned already (e.g., politics, enlisting

stakeholders, money, existing infrastructure. etc.)

Making the business case: ROI vs. “Columbus and the New World” Budgets and total cost of ownership “Buy in”

Defining the strategy Align actions with business goals Show examples Iterate, and involve users

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Business Issues (What Goes Wrong)

We’re late, and we’re over budget – why? Overly optimistic projections Done in by the vendor/consultant sales team Client doesn’t supply needed input Can’t find the right people (“mythical person month”)

Nothing seems to work – why?

Other vendor/people issues

It looks great to me, but the client doesn’t agree Requirements creep Management changes Business changes

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues

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Recap IA in the “real world” is as we study it, but with

strings attached (time, money, bureaucracy)

Software tools are a necessary ingredient of any technical solution: Must be approached very carefully Often make things much easier Can make this much more complex, especially with

large, disparate sites “Point solutions” are expeditious, “Integrated solutions”

favored by IT can be big wins, or big losers

Long-term business success depends on focus, buy-in, careful vendor selection, constant user & stakeholder involvement

IA & The Real World

Software Tools

Business Issues