Information Architecture Flashcards
What is information architecture?
The organization of information within a system. A complex or carefully designed structure that’s conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.
It is about helping people understand their surroundings and find what they’re looking for, in the real world as well as online.
What is information architecture in a website?
How content is grouped and navigated on a site.
What are the two major components of information and architecture?
Information and Architecture
What is “Information”?
What is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.
What is “Architecture”?
The complex or carefully designed structure of something
What is information architecture in UX?
The structure of a website or app in both physical and digital forms.
What does information architecture in UX help users understands?
It’s a way to help users understand where they are in a particular product, as well as how to get where they want to be.
“What different areas does it have and how do you get to them?”
“How does the homepage help you navigate to different pages?”
“How is the content organized into groups? By topic, purpose, or popularity?”
What is library science?
The study and implementation of knowledge- organization systems
What is cognitive psychology?
The study of mental processes such as mental models and cognitive load.
Information architects are especially interested in the processes of?
Memory, language use, and perception.
These processes are what forms the lends, or mental model, through which our customers perceive our product or service?
Who coined the term “information architecture”?
Architect Richard Saul Wurman.
In the 1970s. He argued that the organization of information was often more important than the information itself.
The fournder of Ted Conferences. Concepts and ideas are not only worth organizing, but also worth spreading.
What is a mental model?
What someone believes about a particular system or concept. These models can vary wildly from person to person, especially when considering cultural or demorgaphic differences. They are, therefore, beliefs- not facts.
Why does it matter to recognize the gap between your mental model(the designer) and the mental models of others when designing an app or website?
The disconnect would sabotage your mission to “help people find things”.
What is card sorting (or a card sort)
A participatory design method used to help evaluate or generate ideas for the information architecture of a product or service.
What does an open card sorts require?
Participants to not only sort concepts into categories, but also to label these categories.
What kind of approach is an open card sorts?
This is a generative approach, as it generates new ideas on how to categorize and label concepts.
What is a closed card sorts?
Provides category labels for participants ahead of time, prompting the participant to sort concepts into existing categories.
What kind of approach is a closed card sorts?
Aimed at evaluating whether or not you’ve labeled categories properly.
How exactly does one go about conducting a card sort?
All you need is a marker or pen, some small pieces of paper (sticky notes or index cards work well), and a small group of people (three is usually a good place to start). Your goal is to see how your users interact with the information you’re considering for your app or site.
How would you conduct an open card sort?
You’d write these concepts on your pieces of paper and have your participants sort what they consider to be related cards into piles.
When they’re done sorting the cards, you’d have them create a label for each stack.
How would you conduct a closed card sort?
You’d provide the initial stack labels, and the participants would sort the cards into those categories.
For example, you might provide your participants with categories like “Fresh Food,” “Deli,” “Packaged Foods,” and so on.
What is the goal of a card sort?
To identify the consistent elements that come out of the results you collect.
You want to determine how your users look at your product or service and investigate their mental models so as to present your information to them in an optimal way.
This ensures a good flow of information and a smooth navigation experience.
What is a task analysis?
A process that identifies thhe common steps required to perform and complete a specific task, such as adding an item to a shopping cart on an ecommerce site.
These common steps can then be documented in a diagram known as a task flow.
How do you conduct a task analysis?
To conduct a task analysis, start by honing in on a specific task to analyze; then, determine the entry point (where the user would first encounter the task) and a set of success criteria (what successful completion of the task would look like).
